By Zachary Keck
With the promotion of a number of PLA officer to general, Xi Jinping appears to be seeking to consolidate his control over the military.
On Wednesday, a day before the PLA's 86 birthday, Xi promoted six PLA officers to full general, state media reported. Two of these officers were Xu Fenlin, commander of the Guangzhou Military Region and Cai Yingting, the Nanjing Military Region commander. They are now the only two of China’s seven military region commanders to hold this rank, according to South China Morning Post.
Want China Times notes that many of the generals are extremely young, which is likely to make them more loyal to Xi personally.
“Of the six appointments, three have only recently satisfied the conditions for eligibility,” the article noted. It also observed that General Cai is now the youngest general in the PLA.
Hu Jintao, Xi’s predecessor, also promoted young officers as generals in order to more fully consolidate his control over the PLA, and ensure that his patrons would be in leading positions after he left office.
Read the full story at The Diplomat