China Unveils New PLA Joint Staff Chief in Military Succession

Jacob Gu
·1 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- China’s military on Tuesday unveiled a general as the new effective counterpart of Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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A March 7 report in the PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military, said that General Liu Zhenli attended a group discussion as chief of the People Liberation Army’s Joint Staff Department. An official announcement of the personnel decision has yet to emerge.

The session came during this week’s annual gathering of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, the paper said. A number of top personnel appointments are being made during the NPC, including the expected unveiling of Li Qiang as premier on March 11.

General Li Zuocheng, who has served as head of the PLA joint staff, is still listed as a member of China’s Central Military Commission, the country’s top military body. Li’s retirement was expected after he stepped down from the Communist Party-level CMC at the party’s 20th Congress in October. Liu joined the party CMC at that same session.

The Joint Staff Department is a central target for Xi’s overhaul of the nation’s military, as it oversees PLA operations, intelligence and training.

Like his predecessor, Liu, 59, is a veteran of China’s war with Vietnam more than four decades ago. Liu previously commanded China’s elite 38th Army Corps and later became chief of staff of the People’s Armed Police Force. He was most recently chief of staff for the PLA’s ground forces.

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