The suspended officer, Admiral Miao Hua, served on the ruling Central Military Commission, China's highest-level military command body, and was stationed in the coastal province of Fujian when President Xi Jinping worked there as a local official, according to his official biography.

The confirmation of an investigation into Miao Hua and his suspension marks the latest chapter in a growing corruption scandal engulfing China's military elites.

A top Chinese military official has been dismissed while an investigation into "serious violations of discipline" takes place, Beijing said Thursday, the latest senior figure to fall in a sweeping crackdown on graft in the country's armed forces.