On March 5, 2025, PLA delegates arrive at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to attend the opening of the National People's Congress. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
[People News] According to the CCP mouthpiece Xinhua News Agency, Xu Qiliang’s body was cremated at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing on June 8. Xi Jinping and the six other Politburo Standing Committee members reportedly went to Babaoshan to bid farewell. The state media simultaneously released Xu Qiliang’s official biography and a photo retrospective, which were also republished by the PLA Daily, People’s Daily, and CCTV.
On June 2, 2025, the CCP announced that Xu Qiliang had passed away in Beijing at the age of 75. Former journalist Zhao Lanjian revealed earlier, on May 31, that Xu had actually died in the early hours of May 28, and while the official internal story was that he died of a heart attack, Zhao claimed that Xu had died of fright amid a sweeping purge within the Chinese military.
Xu’s sudden death has sparked widespread speculation about power shifts in the CCP regime and possible purges within the military. It also serves as a key signal for observers assessing whether Xi Jinping has lost his grip on power. Xu’s political life spanned the Deng, Jiang, Hu, and Xi eras, and his abrupt death highlights the opaque, brutal, and complex nature of elite power struggles in China. Who Xu really served, and the true cause of his death, remain widely debated. His funeral, naturally, has become a rare window into the CCP’s internal power dynamics. The funeral's scale, attendees, and official narrative are bound to reveal telling details about the current political landscape.
Funeral Downgraded, Xi Jinping Possibly Controlled
On June 8, state media announced: “Comrade Xu Qiliang’s remains were cremated in Beijing. Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi came to Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery to bid farewell.” It also stated: “During Xu Qiliang’s critical illness and after his passing, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, Han Zheng, and Hu Jintao expressed their condolences in various forms and extended deep sympathies to his family.”
As the first vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), Xu was a vice-national-level military official. His funeral should have been conducted at a national-level protocol, with a joint obituary issued by the CPC Central Committee and the CMC, a body-viewing ceremony at the 301 Military Hospital, and a memorial service before cremation. Military officials should have escorted the coffin, military honor guards present, and military-themed wreaths and decorations set up to reflect his identity as a senior officer—similar to funerals for figures like Wang Zhen and Yang Shangkun.
Strangely, while Xu’s death was officially announced on June 2 and his body cremated on June 8, there was no obituary issued, no body-viewing ceremony, no public memorial service, and no military escort. Only the seven current Standing Committee members appeared at Babaoshan. Han Zheng and Hu Jintao were absent, merely offering condolences through “various forms” during Xu’s illness and after his death.
State media published only one photo from the cremation: Xi Jinping shaking hands with Xu’s family. Xi’s face appeared gloomy, and his gaze was downward. Xu’s family also looked downcast, avoiding eye contact with Xi. There were no other photos released by Xinhua or other state outlets. For a vice chairman of the military commission, whose career spanned multiple leadership generations, this quiet, obscure funeral, with no proper farewell ceremony or military honours, seems like a deliberate act of avoidance. On CCTV’s 7 PM evening news, Xu’s funeral was only the second headline, and video footage showed Xi looking notably weary, while the six other Standing Committee members had blank, lifeless expressions.
Recently, Xi Jinping met Belarusian President Lukashenko and the 11th Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu at Chunyi Zhai in Zhongnanhai’s Fengze Garden. These meetings have been interpreted as signs that Xi is being tightly controlled by a transitional party leadership. Combined with rumours of Xi losing his authority and ongoing signals of power struggle from the regime, Xi’s appearance at Xu’s funeral may have occurred under strict supervision, with media coverage tightly controlled.
Hu Jintao Absent, Military Leaders Disappear, He Weidong Missing Again
Xu Qiliang was promoted to vice chairman of the CMC in 2012 with strong backing from Hu Jintao. Hence, he was long viewed as Hu’s protégé. However, after Xi came to power, Xu assisted Xi in taking down rival military figures Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou. He fully supported Xi’s military reforms in 2017 and served as head of the PLA and armed police delegation at the 20th Party Congress, with Zhang Youxia as deputy and Miao Hua as secretary-general. At the same Congress, Xi secured a third term while Hu Jintao was forcibly removed from the venue—something Xu reportedly played a key role in facilitating. That moment marked a definitive break between Xu and Hu.
At Xu’s funeral, Hu Jintao only sent a wreath, and in the official photo retrospective, a 2012 picture of Hu with Xu was placed third. The second was a photo of Xu with Jiang Zemin in 2000. The first image was from October 26, 2017, showing Xi Jinping with Xu at a military leaders’ meeting.
This arrangement may reflect an intentional effort by anti-Xi factions to portray Xu as loyal to Xi rather than Hu, further distancing him from Hu Jintao.
At the end of the official report, it stated, “Relevant comrades from the Party, state, and military came to bid farewell or expressed their condolences in various ways.” However, it did not specify which military leaders attended. In CCTV footage, no military commission members were seen. Zhang Youxia and He Weidong were notably absent. Independent commentator Cai Shenkun speculated on YouTube that He Weidong didn’t even send a wreath, suggesting a strong possibility that He may be in trouble or even dead.
Xu Qiliang’s Loyalty to Xi May Have Made Him a Sacrificial Scapegoat
Who did Xu really serve? Xinhua’s official obituary provides some clues. The over-3,000-word article calls Xu “a tested and loyal communist fighter, a proletarian military expert, and an outstanding leader of the People’s Liberation Army.” It declares, “His death is a major loss to our Party, country, and military. His outstanding contributions to national defence and military development will be remembered forever.” The piece ends with: “Comrade Xu Qiliang will be immortal.”
While the funeral was low-key and stripped of military honours, the text’s praise of Xu was unusually high, similar to how the Party handled the funeral of Huang Ju in 2007. Huang, a close Jiang Zemin ally, was under investigation due to the Chen Liangyu scandal and was facing political downfall under Hu Jintao when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and eventually died in fear. The regime never disclosed the exact cause of his death nor published any commemorative articles. Xu’s situation mirrors Huang’s: he was being purged and reportedly died from fear.
Who was behind the political purge that Xu Qiliang faced, and who frightened him to death? The article “Comrade Xu Qiliang’s Life” offers an answer. The article outlines Xu Qiliang’s entire life, but nearly half of the second half of the text is devoted to praising the significant contributions he made during Xi Jinping’s era, detailing how Xu loyally served Xi and became a key figure in consolidating Xi’s power.
The article states that Xu “firmly supported and fully implemented the responsibility system under the leadership of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and under Chairman Xi Jinping’s leadership, he accomplished many effective tasks.” It also highlights that he “organized and prepared the Gutian All-Army Political Work Conference,” “served as Executive Deputy Leader of the Leading Group for Deepening National Defense and Military Reform under the CMC,” “assisted Chairman Xi in handling the CMC’s daily operations,” and “deeply understood the decisive significance of the ‘Two Establishes,’ consciously enhanced the ‘Four Consciousnesses,’ firmly upheld the ‘Four Confidences,’ and achieved the ‘Two Upholds.’ He implemented the responsibility system of the CMC Chairman with a firm political stance and strong political sensitivity, and withstood many major political storms.”
So the answer becomes clear: Recently, a faction opposed to Xi Jinping, led by Zhang Youxia, has launched a major purge within the military targeting Xi’s loyalists. Miao Hua has been purged. He Hongjun and He Weidong both reportedly died. As Xi’s top military representative, Xu Qiliang, witnessed these events, how could he have remained unaffected? Could he truly have remained safe and untouched?
There are now widespread rumors that a new seven-member Standing Committee has been formed, with Wang Yang and Hu Chunhua taking the top roles and Zhang Youxia joining with military backing. Xi Jinping is said to be on track to step down from power no later than the Fourth Plenum. His strongman era, defined by authoritarianism and radical leftist policies, appears to be ending amid popular resentment and elite betrayal. The political map of Zhongnanhai is poised for a major overhaul. History once again reminds us: those who defy heaven to protect the Party are like ants trying to stop a cart, or insects trying to shake a tree. △
(First published by People News)
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