Li Zuocheng

Li Zuocheng
李作成
Commander of People's Liberation Army Ground Force
Assumed office
January 2016
Preceded by Position created
Commander of Chengdu Military Region
In office
August 2013 – January 2016
Preceded by Li Shiming
Succeeded by Position abolished
Personal details
Born October 1953 (age 63)
Anhua County, Hunan, China
Political party Communist Party of China
Awards Merit of the first class
Military service
Allegiance  China
Years of service 1970 − present
Rank General
Battles/wars Sino-Vietnamese War
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Li.

Li Zuocheng (Chinese: 李作成; born October 1953) is a general (shang jiang) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. In December 2015, he was appointed the inaugural Commander of the PLA Ground Force. A veteran of the Sino-Vietnamese War, he served in southern China for most of his career; he was commander of the Chengdu Military Region between 2013 and 2016.[1]

Biography

Li Zuocheng was born in October 1953 in Anhua County, Hunan Province. He joined the PLA in 1970 at the age of 17.[2][3]

In 1978, Li fought in the Sino-Vietnamese War as a company commander in the Guangxi Military District. His unit fought a lengthy engagement with the Vietnamese army that lasted 26 days. He was injured in battle but refused to stop fighting. His unit was named by the Central Military Commission as a "hero company", and Li was awarded merit of the first class and officially named a "war hero".[2] In 1982, largely as a result of his wartime achievements, Li was selected to sit in the Presidium (主席团) of the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the age of only 29.[2]

Li Zuocheng steadily rose through the military ranks, and became a division commander by 1994. His division was lauded for its performance during the relief efforts of the Guangxi floods in the summer of 1994, and the entire division was awarded merit of the second class. In 1995, Li was named one of the "100 best public servants" of China. He was promoted to the rank of major general in 1997.[2]

In 1998, 45-year-old Li Zuocheng succeeded Ou Jingu (欧金谷) as Commander of the 41st Group Army, becoming China's youngest army commander at the time; he commanded the 41st Army in the relief efforts of the great Yangtze floods of that year.[2]

Li was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Guangzhou Military Region in 2002; even though this was technically a lateral move, the transfer was seen as a 'sidelining' of Li, because he was no longer serving on the frontline of command. In December 2007, he was transferred to the Chengdu Military Region and became its Deputy Commander. He attained the rank of lieutenant general in 2009. In August 2013, he was promoted to Commander of the Chengdu Military Region, replacing the retiring general Li Shiming (no relation).[2]

On 31 July 2015, Li Zuocheng was promoted to general (shang jiang), the highest rank for Chinese military officers in active service, together with nine other officers.[4] After the PLA's re-organization in late 2015, Li was named the inaugural commander of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force.[5]

References

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