President Xi promotes PLA Commander overseeing India border to rank of General

TIL Desk/World/Beijingi/ Chinese President Xi Jinping has promoted Xu Qiling, Commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Western Theatre Command which oversees the borders with India, to the rank of a General, amid the continued standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Xi, who is also Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) – the overall high command of the PLA, promoted 58-year-old Xu to the rank of General – the highest rank for officers in active service in China.

The other officers who were promoted to the rank of General included Commander of the Southern Theatre Command Wang Xiubin, Commander of the PLA Army Liu Zhenli, and Commander of the PLA Strategic Support (Missile) Force Ju Qiansheng.

Xi presented certificates of the orders he signed to them at a ceremony held by the CMC in Beijing on Monday. Xu, who held the rank of Lt. Gen. previously, was appointed to head Western Theatre Command ground in June last year.

A report referred to Xu as the Commander of the PLA’s Western Theatre Command. Regarded as the rising star in the PLA, Xu was one of the young generals promoted by Xi after he took the helm of the PLA in late 2012.