China Promotes New Commanders for Key Taiwan and Beijing Defense Zones

The leadership changes at the Eastern and Central Theater Commands come amid PLA purges and an ongoing investigation into air force corruption.
China Promotes New Commanders for Key Taiwan and Beijing Defense Zones
Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) officers in Tiananmen Square, in this file photo. Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Dec. 22 promoted two senior officers to the rank of full general, appointing new commanders for two of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) most strategically critical regions—the Eastern and Central Theater commands—against the backdrop of an ongoing military shakeup and corruption investigations.

According to Chinese state media, the promotion ceremony was overseen by Xi, who also chairs the Central Military Commission (CMC).