Xi Jinping reshuffles the Central Security Bureau.

Key officials from the Central Security Bureau, the agency responsible for protecting China's top leaders, have been transferred, in a move that may be aimed at eliminating the influence of former Central Party Office chief Ling Jihua.

Chinese President and his wife, Peng Liyuan, along with bodyguards, prepare to fly from Sydney to New Zealand. Photo: AFP.

According to three different sources cited by SCMP, Chinese President Xi Jinping is reshuffling the leadership at the Central Security Bureau. This unit, under the Central Party Office, is responsible for the security of leaders and Zhongnanhai, the political nerve center in Beijing and home to many leaders of the Chinese Communist Party.

Accordingly, Major General Wang Shaojun was promoted from deputy director to director of the Central Security Bureau, concurrently serving as head of the Central Security Regiment. Lieutenant General Cao Qing, the former director, was transferred to become deputy commander of the Beijing Military Region.

Wang Shaojun, 60, was promoted to major general in 2008. He served as a bodyguard accompanying the Chinese president during his visit to the Nanjing Military Region in December 2014.

Cao Qing was once a bodyguard of Marshal Ye Jianying, and together with Ye, he participated in the arrest of the "Gang of Four" in 1976, after the death of former Chairman Mao Zedong. The trial of the "Gang of Four" marked the end of the Cultural Revolution in China.

Cao Qing was once suspected of being involved with Ling Jihua, the former chief of the Central Party Office, who was under investigation for corruption allegations. According to Back China, in March 2012, when Ling Gu, Ling Jihua's son, was involved in a car accident, Cao Qing and two deputy directors personally went to the scene. The incident caused tension between the Security Bureau and the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

According to SCMP sources, Cao Qing's transfer is most likely due to Xi Jinping's desire to remove Ling's influence from the unit. The exact timing of Cao's transfer is unclear, but according to the Qingdao Daily, during yesterday's annual National People's Congress session in Beijing, Cao wore a military uniform with the insignia of the Beijing Military Region, indicating his new position.

Two former high-ranking officials close to Ling Jihua at the Central Party Office, Huo Ke and Wang Zhongtian, were transferred to other government agencies in December 2014 and late February, respectively. Huo was arrested by the Chinese Communist Party's anti-corruption agency in January.

The reshuffle of the Central Security Bureau comes as Xi Jinping intensifies his anti-corruption campaign within the military. Last week, China announced investigations into 14 senior officers, including the son of former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, General Guo Boxiong.

According to VnExpress