In the latest round of internal turmoil within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) military, a large number of generals personally promoted by Xi Jinping have been ousted. Today, on December 22nd, Xi Jinping once again promoted two new generals, sparking curiosity about their backgrounds.
According to the CCP’s official Xinhua News Agency on December 22nd, the promotion ceremony for the two new generals was held at the Bayi Building in Beijing by the Central Military Commission. CCP leader Xi Jinping attended the promotion ceremony where Yang Zhibin, Commander of the Eastern Theater Command, and Han Shengyan, Commander of the Central Theater Command, were promoted to the rank of general.
The official media reported that Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, read the promotion order for the new generals, while Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin presided over the ceremony. Members of the Central Military Commission such as Liu Zhenli, as well as heads of relevant departments and units based in Beijing, also attended the promotion ceremony.
Recently, the Epoch Times reported that after the dismissal of General Lin Xiangyang and General Liu Qingsong in the Eastern Theater Command, Major Generals Yang Zhibin and Zhang Jichun were transferred to the Eastern Theater Command in September to serve as acting Commander and Political Commissar. Yang Zhibin and Zhang Jichun were reported to have appeared in the official coverage of the National Memorial Ceremony for the Nanjing Massacre on December 13. However, this time, only Yang Zhibin was promoted to the rank of general, confirming his appointment as Commander of the Eastern Theater Command.
Public records show that Yang Zhibin, born in April 1963 in Anyang, Henan Province, previously served as the Commander of the 26th Air Division of the Nanjing Military Region and Commander of the Air Force Command in Shanghai. In 2010, he was appointed Commander of the Air Force Command in Wuhan. In 2011, he was reassigned as Commander of the Air Force Command in Fuzhou. In December 2014, he was promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff and Air Force Chief of Staff of Lanzhou Military Region. In January 2016, he became the Director of the Air Force’s Follow-up Office in Lanzhou Military Region. He was appointed as the Commander of the Shaanxi Provincial Military Region in April 2017. In December 2018, he became a member of the Standing Committee of the CCP Shaanxi Provincial Committee. In March 2021, he was promoted to Deputy Commander of the Southern Theater Command. In 2023, he was transferred to Deputy Commander of the Western Theater Command. In September 2025, he was reassigned as Deputy Commander of the Eastern Theater Command.
Yang Zhibin originates from the Air Force’s 26th Division stationed in Fujian, where his former superiors include the late Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Xu Qiliang, who “passed away from sudden illness” in June this year; also, former Air Force Commander Ding Laihang, who fell from grace in 2023, also hails from the 26th Division.
Among the CCP’s five theater commands, the Eastern Theater Command’s main strategic mission is to deal with the Taiwan Strait situation and the East China Sea, inheriting the original territory of the Nanjing Military Region after the 2016 military reform. Over the past decade from 2016 to 2025, the Eastern Theater Command has witnessed three commanders successively – Liu Yuejun, He Weidong, and Lin Xiangyang. He Weidong was transferred from Commander of the Eastern Theater Command to the Central Military Commission, and later promoted to become a member of the Political Bureau and Vice Chairman of the Military Commission. Previous Military Commission member Miao Hua also hailed from the Nanjing Military Region.
However, in the recent internal turmoil within the military, the Eastern Theater Command has become a major target of “purge.” Among the nine generals who were collectively expelled from the Party and the military before the Fourth Plenary Session in October this year, half of them were from the Eastern Theater Command, including Miao Hua, He Weidong, Lin Xiangyang, as well as Commander of the Armed Police Force Wang Chunning, and Executive Deputy Director of the Joint Operations Command Center of the Central Military Commission, Wang Xiubin. At the Fourth Plenary Session, in addition to the announced downfall of He Weidong and others, 14 generals who were central committee members went “missing,” including Liu Qingsong, the Political Commissar of the Eastern Theater Command.
Xi Jinping’s military parade on September 3, 2025, garnered global attention. Traditionally, it should have been Air Force General Wang Qiang, Commander of the Central Theater Command, who would serve as the overall commander of the parade. However, this time, Wang Qiang was replaced by Major General Han Shengyan, the Commander of the Air Force of the Central Theater Command.
On July 31, Wang Qiang was absent from the CCP’s 98th-anniversary military reception. Although he attended the Fourth Plenary Session held on October 20, this time he was replaced by Han Shengyan, confirming the rumors surrounding Wang Qiang.
Public records show that Han Shengyan, born in May 1963 in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, a Major General of the Air Force, previously held positions such as Deputy Chief of Staff of the former Chengdu Military Region Air Force, Chief of Staff of the former Lanzhou Military Region Air Force, and Deputy Commander of the former Chengdu Military Region Air Force. In July 2018, he was appointed as the Commander of the Air Force of the Central Theater Command.
On October 17, the CCP Ministry of National Defense spokesperson announced that He Weidong, member of the CCP Political Bureau and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, former member of the Central Military Commission, and Director of the Political Work Department, Miao Hua, and nine other generals were expelled from the Party and the military, and transferred for judicial review on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law.
He Weidong is a member of the CCP Political Bureau and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, personally promoted and fast-tracked by Xi Jinping at the 20th CCP National Congress, in charge of political work, personnel, and more; while Miao Hua is known as the “Organization Minister” overseeing the appointment of senior military officials, serves as the “Chief Political Commissar” among the military’s political commissars.
According to a late October count by the Epoch Times, out of the 79 generals promoted since Xi Jinping came to power, around 36 have been officially dismissed, accounting for nearly half of the promotions.
In December, the CCP military openly solicited information on corruption issues in the Air Force, while rumors circulated that Air Force Commander Zhang Dingqiu and Air Force Political Commissar Guo Puxiao are under investigation.
On December 11, prominent political scholar Liu Junning revealed on X platform that Air Force Commander Zhang Dingqiu suddenly passed away from a heart attack during his “detention for questioning” by the military disciplinary inspection commission.
Regarding the promotion of two new generals by Xi Jinping at the end of 2025, current affairs commentator Li Lin believes that these newly promoted generals have no intersection with Xi or his confidants, making it uncertain whether they are loyal to Xi or if Xi trusts them. Furthermore, corruption persists in this CCP system. This is one of the factors contributing to the greatest instability within the military for the CCP regime.