BEIJING: Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, promoted two senior People’s Liberation Army officers on Monday to the rank of general, the highest rank for officers in active service in China.
Xi presented the promotion certificates to Wang Wenquan, political commissar of the PLA Southern Theater Command, and Hu Zhongming, commander of the PLA Navy.
General Zhang Youxia, a vice-chairman of the CMC, announced the order of promotion, which was signed by Xi at a ceremony at the commission’s headquarters in Beijing. The ceremony was presided over by General He Weidong, another CMC vice-chairman.
Xi congratulated the promoted officers, who had been lieutenant generals. Later, Xi and other leaders had a group photo taken with them.
Earlier, Amid comprehensive reform over the past decade, President Xi Jinping has steered China toward a future of Chinese modernization with greater confidence, as the country’s socialist system with Chinese characteristics is maturing along the way.
From witnessing theoretical development to addressing challenges unique to a large political party, and from advancing national institutional and governance system reforms to driving high-quality development, China has achieved historic, systemic and holistic transformations in many fields over the past 10 years. David Ferguson, an editor of the English version of the book Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, said he was astonished to see how a remote mountain village in Northwest China’s Gansu province could be transformed so dramatically. “A decade ago, it took three days to reach Longnan city from there, but now it only takes an hour,” he said, noting that all the villages are connected by paved roads, and bridges and tunnels span the mountains. Ferguson attributes China’s remarkable progress to the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
