[citation needed] He enlisted in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in December 1972 after middle school.

[citation needed] In October 2022, Zhang was named as a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and the second-ranking vice chairman of the CCP Central Military Commission.

[5][6] In January 2024, at the annual meeting of the disciplinary inspectors of the PLA, He said the military should "adhere to a strict tone, use stricter standards to scrutinize the key few, and show determination to get to the bottom of long-standing [corruption] problems".

He also called on the CMC Commission for Discipline Inspection to maintain loyalty and support to CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping.

[7] In March, during a discussion with a PLA delegation, He called on crackdowns on "fake combat capabilities".