Chinese President Xi Jinping appointed a new general as commander of the Western Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army, which oversees the China-India border, amid the military clash in eastern Ladakh.
President Xi, who heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), the high command general of the 2 million-strong People’s Liberation Army (PLA), appointed General Zhang Xudong as commander of the Western Theater Command, according to official media. here.
Xi has promoted four senior Chinese military and armed police officers. Among them was General Zhang, commander of the PLA Western Theater Command, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.
The other officers who were promoted include Guo Puxiao, Political Commissioner of the CMC Logistics Support Department; Li Wei, political commissioner of the PLA Strategic Support Force and Wang Chunning, commander.
The new appointments at the top of the PLA Western Command come amid clashes between the Chinese and Indian military in eastern Ladakh since May.
Not much is known about General Zhang, especially his association with Western Theater Command, as he reportedly served primarily in other PLA theater commands.
He succeeds General Zhao Zongqi, 65, who headed the Western Theater Command during the 2017 Doklam clash, where the Indian army opposed the PLA’s plan to lay a road near the Indian border in an area claimed by Bhutan.
The Ladakh confrontation also occurred under the supervision of Gen Zhao. It started in May after China sent thousands of troops who were mobilized for military exercises to Ladakh’s eastern borders, sparking a new round of tensions with India.
India and China have held several rounds of talks at the diplomatic and military level to resolve the protracted confrontation.
In the latest round of talks at the Foreign Ministry level on December 18, the two sides said they agreed to continue working to ensure the complete withdrawal of troops from all friction points throughout LAC. The meeting also decided to hold the next round of military dialogue at an early date.
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