With no defense chief in sight, China promotes 2 military officers as generals

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – With no new defense minister in sight yet, China’s President Xi Jinping on Monday promoted two army officers to the rank of general.

Xi, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission, promoted Wang Wenquan and Hu Zhongming, said the State Council, the supreme organ of the state administration.

In People’s Liberation Army (PLA), general is the highest rank for officers in active service.

While Wang was serving as political commissar at the Southern Theater Command of the PLA, Hu was serving as commander of the PLA Navy.

The promotions come as China’s top post in the Defense Ministry has been vacant since its head Li Shangfu was sacked in October after he remained absent from public since late August.

Li, 65, was also removed from the Xi-led Central Military Commission, where he served as one of its six members.

No official reason has so far been given by Beijing, however, possibility of corruption behind Li’s sacking has not been ruled out.

Li was promoted to the rank of general in July 2019 when he served as director of equipment development department.

The latest promotions also come as China resumed high-level military communication with the US last week in more than a year after Beijing snapped lines of communication following an unannounced trip to Taiwan by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

PLA General Liu Zhenli held a video call with CQ Brown, Jr., the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, to discuss a number of global and regional security issues.

The defense minister is a nominal position in China's governance structure, who specifically conducts military diplomacy, meeting visiting military officials and representing China overseas.

Operational command of China's military lies in the hands of the Central Military Commission headed by Xi himself.