On August 17th, the Chinese Communist Party held a grand centenary celebration for former Party leader Jiang Zemin. The absence of General Li Zuocheng, former member of the Military Commission and Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, sparked attention. Li Zuocheng was said to have been suppressed in his early years for removing the Jiang Zemin quotes sign, but was later promoted under Xi Jinping’s leadership. However, since the 20th National Congress of the CCP, many generals promoted by Xi have fallen from grace.
According to footage from CCTV, on August 17th, at the grand centenary celebration, 97-year-old former Minister of National Defense Chi Haotian and several other former leaders of the Central Military Commission were seated on the podium. Former members of the Central Military Commission were seated behind former deputy national-level leaders, but notably absent was General Li Zuocheng, who was a member of the 19th Central Military Commission and Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.
At 72 years old, Li Zuocheng, who participated in the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979, is one of the few military leaders in the Chinese Communist Party with actual combat experience.
During Jiang Zemin’s tenure, he was consistently suppressed. In 1998, at the age of 45, Li Zuocheng was promoted to Commander of the 41st Group Army, moving into a regular army rank. However, four years later, he was reassigned as Vice Chief of Staff of the Guangzhou Military Region, essentially demoted to a secondary position, and subsequently remained at the regular army rank for 10 years.
Rumors suggest that the reason Li Zuocheng faced suppression was because during his time as the Commander of the 41st Group Army, he removed a sign displaying quotes from then Chairman of the Military Commission Jiang Zemin, which resulted in someone reporting him to Jiang, leading to his demotion. He spent the next decade “treading water” in a regular army rank.
It wasn’t until Hu Jintao took office that Li Zuocheng was promoted to Deputy Commander of the Chengdu Military Region in 2008.
Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, Li Zuocheng was continuously trusted and promoted. In July 2013, he was appointed as the Commander of the Chengdu Military Region, and in January 2016, he became the first Commander of the People’s Liberation Army after the military reform. In August 2017, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, retiring from that position in October 2022.
Since 2023, the Chinese Communist Party’s military has undergone a massive purge. According to previous reports by Da Ji Yuan, more than 20% of the generals promoted under Xi Jinping have fallen. However, there had been no rumors of Li Zuocheng falling before.