He is also a Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the top anti-corruption agency of China.

[1] In 2010, when he was posted at a military base in Northwest China, he led more than 1,000 troops in the reconstruction work immediately after the 2010 Yushu earthquake in Qinghai Province.

He replaced General Du Jincai, who was closely associated with the former CMC vice-chairmen Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, both of whom had been investigated for corruption.

[2] During the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2017, Zhang was elected a member of the 19th Central Committee.

[3][4] A week later, on 2 November 2017, Zhang was promoted to the rank of general (shang jiang) by CMC chairman Xi Jinping.