Beijing (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping's close ally Xu Qiliang, who was formerly the powerful Central Military Commission, died at the age of 75 in Beijing on Monday.
When Xi Jinping came to power, Xu served two consecutive terms between 20122 and 2022. Prior to this, he worked in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force for decades, and after serving in the General Staff of the PLA, he was promoted to commander of the Air Force in 2007.
Xu was described as a brief Notice issued by Xinhua News Agency on Monday, and was described as an “outstanding member of the Communist Party” and an “outstanding leader of the People's Liberation Army.”
He was the first vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), not from the Army, which is a sign that Beijing is increasingly emphasizing military branches as the PLA pursues combat integration and modernization.
Shortly after Xi Jinping took office, he seemed unscathed in the anti-corruption campaign against the PLA's highest ranking.
Since last year, the Chinese military has carried out a new anti-corruption purge, with more than a dozen PLA generals, including two former defense ministers and a service CMC member Miao Hua, removed or suspended from his post.
Born in a peasant family in Shandong Province in eastern China, Xu joined the PLA in 1966 at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, a decade of turbulent times led by Mao Zedong.
He is a strong advocate of military modernization, helping the Air Force transform from relying on outdated equipment to attack ships of stealth fighters and amphibians developed at home.
Xu was the commander of the Fuzhou Air Force in Fuji Province, while Xi Jinping was the head of the city's Communist Party in the early 1990s. It was during this time that these people were reportedly approaching.
(Reported by Laurie Chen; Editor of Lincoln Feast.)
