Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission, China's top military decision-making body, was suspended from duty and is under investigation due to a suspected serious violation of discipline, China's Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, the ministry spokesman, announced the news at a regular news conference in Beijing, saying the investigation on Miao, who is also the chief of the political work department of the CMC, is according to the decision of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Miao has served as the CMC's political work chief since 2017 and was elected as a CMC member at the 19th National Congress of the CPC in 2017, continuing in this role to the investigation, according to public information.

According to the website of the Defense Ministry, the high-ranking military official's most recent public appearance was on Oct 7, when he participated as the deputy head of the central delegation in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.