At the China-India talks in New Delhi on September 12, 2026, Zhou Hongxu, director of the Central Guard Bureau, appeared beside Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, attending in plain clothes. Eight months after Zhang Youxia was dismissed in January 2026, Zhou Hongxu remains in his post.
It is rumored that Zhou Hongxu, Director of the Central Guard Bureau, broke away from Cai Qi's control during the 2026 Two Sessions in March and demanded immediate military action but received no order from the Central Military Commission. Old military leaders such as Liu Yuan and Li Zuocheng reportedly reached out to him, urging him to obey the arrangements of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao.
Rumor has it that on January 20, 2026, the day an incident involving Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli occurred at the Central Party School, Cai Qi briefly took control of the two men: Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin and Director of the Central Guard Bureau Zhou Hongxu.
Rumor has it that during the CCP's 20th National Congress in 2022, Zhang Youxia, then vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, ordered Zhou Hongxu, director of the Central Guard Bureau, to lock down the venue.
It is rumored that in July 2021, Zhou Hongxu, former deputy chief of staff of the Northern Theater Command Army, took office as director of the Central Guard Bureau and was awarded the rank of major general, breaking the precedent that his three predecessors were all promoted from within the guard system. The authorities never announced this appointment.