During the same period he also held a seat in the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, China's top decision-making body.

[1] In August 1958, Guo, aged 16 and just finished middle school, began working at a military factory in Xingping, Shaanxi province.

After Guo's retirement, Xi Jinping, the CCP General Secretary and supreme commander of the PLA, began a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign.

Guo was subject of intense rumours surrounding possible involvement with corruption during his time in office, particularly in overseas Chinese media.

Guo and his former colleague of the same rank, retired general Xu Caihou, attended a new year's gala in early 2014, signalling that both may have "weathered the storm".

However, shortly thereafter, in the summer of 2014, as part of the fallout of the Gu Junshan case, Xu was court-martialed and expelled from the party.

[6] On March 5, in response to a reporter's question about whether Guo Boxiong was under investigation, the party's main anti-corruption crusader in the military, General Liu Yuan, responded simply with the phrase "ni dongde" (that is, "I think you know what I mean.

On July 30, following another Politburo meeting, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's top anti-corruption body, released a statement charging Guo with taking bribes personally and through his family in exchange "for aiding in the promotion [of officers]."