China’s reshuffled military leadership sends clear signal on Taiwan focus
- Former Eastern Theatre Command head General He Weidong becomes second-ranked CMC vice-chairman
- General Zhang Youxia promoted to first-ranked CMC vice-chairman despite being 72 years old
The Communist Party unveiled a major reshuffle in China’s top military leadership on Sunday, sending a clear signal that the People’s Liberation Army will be focused on Taiwan in the next five years and beyond.
President Xi Jinping, who secured a precedent-defying third term as party leader and CMC chairman, has set 2027 as a milestone in the PLA’s modernisation strategy in military doctrines, personnel training, equipment and technologies.
The US Department of Defence said last year that the modernisation goal could provide Beijing “with more credible military options in a Taiwan contingency”.
The 65-year-old He raced through the ranks in a little more than a decade. In 2008, he was still a major general with the former 31st Group Army based in Fujian, where he spent his formative years. Five years later, he became the military commander of Jiangsu province, which was part of the Nanjing military region that oversaw China’s eastern theatre.