Top Chinese general Xu Qiliang, a close ally of President Xi Jinping who was the former vice chair of the powerful Central Military Commission, died of illness at age 75 on Monday in Beijing, state media reported.
Xu served two consecutive terms on the Communist Party's highest military command body between 2012 and 2022, as Xi came to power. Before that, he spent decades in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force, rising to Air Force Commander in 2007 after a stint in the PLA General Staff Department.
Xu was described as an "outstanding member of the Communist Party" and an "outstanding leader of the People's Liberation Army" in a short obituary published by state news agency Xinhua.
He was the first Central Military Commission (CMC) vice chair not to have been from the land forces, a sign of Beijing's growing emphasis on different branches of the military as the PLA pursues combat integration and modernisation.
He emerged seemingly unscathed by the anti-corruption campaign targeting the highest ranks of the PLA soon after Xi came into office, which took down his predecessors Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, both vice-chairs of the CMC.
China's military has undergone a renewed anti-corruption purge since last year, with over a dozen PLA generals including two former defence ministers and a serving CMC member, Miao Hua, removed or suspended from their posts.
Born into a peasant family in eastern China's Shandong province, Xu joined the PLA in 1966 at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, a decade-long period of turmoil spearheaded by Mao Zedong.
He was a strong advocate of military modernisation, helping transform the air force from a reliance on outdated equipment to domestically developed stealth fighters and amphibian assault ships.
Xu was commander of an air force unit in Fuzhou, Fujian province, while Xi was the city's Communist Party chief in the early 1990s. It is during this period that the men were reported to have become close.
A coalition of women’s rights organisations, technology watchdogs and progressive campaigners is urging Apple and Google, owned by Alphabet, to remo...
At least 31 people have been killed after a construction crane fell on top of a train in northeast Thailand. The accident took place in the Sikhio dis...
China is stepping up efforts to promote technology-enabled elderly care, aiming to improve the health, safety and overall wellbeing of its rapidly gro...
Both U.S. and Armenia have approved a joint statement on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity implementation framework, known as TRI...
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said a statement issued in Washington marks a significant step towards turning peace between Armenia an...
A coalition of women’s rights organisations, technology watchdogs and progressive campaigners is urging Apple and Google, owned by Alphabet, to remove the social media platform X and its associated chatbot, Grok, from their app stores.
Both U.S. and Armenia have approved a joint statement on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity implementation framework, known as TRIPP, following talks in Washington between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 14th of January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Boeing booked more aircraft orders than Airbus in 2025 for the first time since 2018, official figures showed, even as the European manufacturer delivered more planes during the year.
Real Madrid have parted ways with coach Xabi Alonso, appointing former defender Álvaro Arbeloa as his replacement.
The U.S. has issued an urgent security notice calling all American citizens to leave Iran immediately, citing escalating protests, growing violence and widespread communication shutdowns across the country.
The United Nations’ top court at The Hague has begun hearings on whether Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority. Gambia told judges on Monday that Myanmar targeted minority Muslim Rohingya for destruction and made their lives a nightmare in a landmark case.
Apple will use Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) models for its revamped Siri voice assistant later this year, in a multi-year deal that strengthens the tech giants’ partnership and boosts Alphabet’s position in the race against OpenAI.
President Donald Trump said on Monday any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the U.S., as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.
China is stepping up efforts to promote technology-enabled elderly care, aiming to improve the health, safety and overall wellbeing of its rapidly growing senior population.
The Trump administration has released a previously classified legal opinion on Tuesday, setting out its justification for the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and U.S. military operations carried out inside Venezuela.
Israel and Arab States have urged the U.S. to delay any potential military action against Iran, warning that such a move could undermine ongoing protests inside the country, according to NBC News.
At least 31 people have been killed after a construction crane fell on top of a train in northeast Thailand. The accident took place in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230 kilometres (143 miles) northeast of Bangkok, on a train bound for Ubon Ratchathani province.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 14th of January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment