War hero tipped as Xi Jinping’s choice for key role in world’s biggest army
General Li Zuocheng, 64, a veteran of the 1979 war with Vietnam, expected to become new vice-chairman of CMC, sources say
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 17 August, 2017, 8:01am
UPDATED : Thursday, 17 August, 2017, 8:54am
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A Sino-Vietnamese war veteran is expected to
take a key vice-chairman role on China’s powerful Central Military
Commission (CMC), military sources said.
General Li Zuocheng, the 64-year-old commanding
officer of the ground force of the People’s Liberation Army, will fill
the vacancy left by CMC vice-chairman Xu Qiliang, several sources told
the South China Morning Post.
Xu is likely to take over as CMC first
vice-chairman, the sources said. Incumbent General Fan Changlong, 70, is
expected to retire from that position next month.
Li, 64, a Hunan native, was decorated by the CMC
as a war hero during China’s conflict with Vietnam in 1979, awarded a
first-class merit for his personal achievements. His combat company also
won a collective order of merit.
A source close to the PLA told the Post
that Fan may retire next month and Xu would fill the void. A second
source, who requested anonymity, said the vacancy created by Xu’s move
would be filled by Li.
When Li was promoted to division commander in
1994, his combat unit was awarded a second-class merit for their part in
a flood-relief mission in Guangxi.
Four years later, Li – who was by then the 41st
Army Corps commander – led his force to fight devastating floods that
hit 24 provinces across China. Lasting two months, the deluge wreaked
havoc, affecting 220 million people, claiming 3,004 lives and destroying
at least 13.3 million homes.
A retired senior colonel based in Beijing told the Post
that Li’s nomination for the job would pave the way for the upcoming
leadership reshuffle at the party’s national congress in autumn.
“Li is the most experienced general – he’s taken
part in real battles and disaster relief missions, meaning he meets all
the requirements for President Xi Jinping’s call to build up a
combat-ready fighting force.”
The promotion would be a “breakthrough” in terms
of the make-up of the CMC, another military source said, because Li was
not one of the existing 10 military members. President Xi, who is also
chairman of the CMC, is its only civilian member.
“There is a medium- and long-term political
consideration behind Li’s nomination – it’s a sign that promotion within
the PLA will go back to being based on achievements and experience
rather than connections and background,” the source said.
Li has been regarded as one of Xi’s hand-picked
rising military stars since 2013, when he was named head of the former
Chengdu Military Region. Li was promoted to full general in 2015.
The president appreciated Li’s “clean
background”, the first source said. “Li was promoted as commander of the
new ground force early this year mainly because of his stable
background,” the source said. “Xi once said there were three kinds of
people who could not be nominated to lead the ground force: the
offspring of senior officials, their sons-in-law, and personal aides to
military officials. He believes the PLA needs capable leaders to rise up
from the grass roots.”
Several independent military insiders said Li
did not have the opportunity for career advancement when Guo Boxiong and
Xu Caihou were the CMC vice-chairmen in charge of leadership promotion
in the 2000s.
Guo and Xu were the most senior military
officials to be brought down by the army’s former top graft-buster Liu
Yuan as part of Xi’s massive anti-corruption drive. Guo, 75, was jailed
for life for corruption in July last year, while Xu died of cancer at 72
while in custody in March 2015.
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