China has suspended a top military official and placed him under investigation for corruption, the defense ministry said, as leader Xi Jinping broadens a sweeping purge in the upper ranks of the world’s largest military.

A member of China's powerful Central Military Commission has been suspended and put under investigation, the country's Defense Ministry said Thursday. Miao Hua was director of the political work department on the commission,

On Thursday, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense confirmed that Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission and the chief of the PLA Political Work Department, is under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline.