Aerospace expert named military equipment head

An aerospace expert has been appointed as head of a department in the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Military Commission (CMC) ahead of the 19th National Congress of the CPC.

This is the seventh personnel change to be announced since the start of the military reform.

The PLA Daily reported on Monday that Li Shangfu attended the opening ceremony of an event on military and civilian integration and high-tech equipment in Beijing.

The report said that Li replaced Zhang Youxia as head of the CMC Equipment Development Department, and this was the first time Li used his new title in public. The report didn’t say what Zhang’s new role will be.

Li was a senior official of China’s space project. He used to be the director of China’s main satellite launch sites in Xichang, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province and has played a major role in lunar exploration missions. In February 2016, Li was appointed as vice commander of the PLA’s Strategic Support Force.

This marks the seventh major personnel change within the CMC (eight in all) since the military reform. Defense Minister Chang Wanquan remains as the only CMC official not to be reassigned.

Zhou Yaning graced the event as commander of the PLA Rocket Force. This means Zhou replaced Wei Fenghe.

Song Puxuan, the former commander of the Northern Theater Command, was appointed as the new head of the CMC Logistical Support Department, while his predecessor Zhao Keshi hosted the logistics meeting in Beijing as a member of the CMC last week.

Other major personnel changes all happened in 2017. Shen Jinlong replaced Wu Shengli as PLA Navy commander in January; Li Zuocheng replaced Fang Fenghui as chief of the Joint Staff Department of the PLA in August; Ding Laihang replaced Ma Xiaotian as commander of the PLA Air Force, and Miao Hua replaced Zhang Yang as head of the Political Work Department of the PLA in September.