The elite Central Committee of China's ruling Communist Party replaced 11 members at a key meeting, Reuters reports. and the Xinhua news agency.
It was the largest personnel turnover since 2017 amid an ongoing crackdown on corruption in the military.
The news came on the final day of a key closed-door meeting of the 300-plus-member body in Beijing, known as the Fourth Plenum, which also discussed an upcoming five-year economic development plan.
Chinese veteran general Zhang Shenming, 67, was promoted to second-rank vice chairman of the influential Central Military Commission (CMC).
Zhang, who is currently a member of the CMC, replaces He Weidong, the former second-rank vice chairman who was expelled from the Communist Party last week on corruption charges along with eight other generals from the People's Liberation Army. The move was announced after the Communist Party Central Committee wrapped up a key four-day session in Beijing.
It was the largest turnover at a single Central Committee meeting since the Seventh Plenum in 2017, when a record 11 members were replaced. Since coming to power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has spearheaded a massive anti-corruption campaign targeting the party and government.
Eight of the generals were also members of the Central Committee, and some of their investigations have not been previously disclosed.
He Weidong is believed to have been a close military confidant of Xi. Both men served in Fujian province in the 1990s.
His removal is the first of a serving general in the CPC since the Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976. He Weidong was also part of the 24-member Politburo.
The previous seven-member CPC, headed by Xi, has lost three members since 2023 in a series of anti-corruption purges.
168 full members of the Central Committee and 147 alternate members attended the plenary session. The current Central Committee had 205 full members and 171 alternate members when it was elected in 2022.