Update | Is Xi Jinping protecting himself from an internal threat? China president reshuffles elite security unit

President Xi Jinping has reshuffled the Central Security Bureau that is in charge of his personal safety, three separate sources have told the South China Morning Post.

Major General Wang Shaojun, the executive deputy commander of the bureau, has been promoted to lead it and also the Central Guard Regiment. The bureau's incumbent commander, Lieutenant General Cao Qing, is being transferred to the Beijing Military Area Command as its deputy commander, the sources said.

The powerful Central Security Bureau is responsible for the safety of top Chinese leaders and the Zhongnanhai compound in central Beijing, where many Communist Party leaders are based.

It directly reports to the general office of Central Committee of the Communist Party.

The security bureau wields considerable power and in the past has moved to stop possible coup attempts. The bureau and Marshal Ye Jianying played a central role in the arrest of the Gang of Fou in 1976. The Cultural Revolution leaders were accused of plotting to seize power after Mao Zedong's death.

Former presidential aide Ling Jihua, who is under investigation for corruption, used to oversee the bureau when he was director of the central office and sources believe Xi wanted to weed out his influence from the unit.