BEIJING — China has put a high-ranking military official under investigation, its Defense Ministry announced Thursday. The official, Miao Li, is director of the Political Work Department, on the powerful Central Military Commission that overseas the People’s Liberation Army.

China has suspended a top military official and placed him under investigation for corruption, the defense ministry said, as leader Xi Jinping broadens a sweeping purge in the upper ranks of the world’s largest military.

China is investigating Miao Hua, a member of the military’s top body led by President Xi Jinping, according to the AFP, ramping up a sweeping graft probe roiling the upper echelons of the People’s Liberation Army.