The suspension of Miao Hua, one of China's highest-ranking military officials, marks an escalation in leader Xi Jinping's campaign to tackle corruption.

China has suspended a high-ranking military official while he is being investigated, its Defense Ministry announced Thursday.

A top Chinese military official has been removed from office and is suspected of "serious violations of discipline", Beijing said Thursday, the latest senior apparatchik to fall in a sweeping crackdown on graft in the country's armed forces.