Xu Qiliang, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, who played a key role in helping President Xi Jinping consolidate control over the military, has passed away at the age of 75.
Xi Qiang, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, is speaking. Photo by AP Yonhap News
On June 2, Chinese media outlets including Xinhua News Agency reported that Xu Qiliang died suddenly of a myocardial infarction at 12:12 p.m. that day while jogging.
Born in March 1950 in Shandong Province, Xu Qiliang joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force in July 1966 and became a member of the Communist Party the following July. After graduating from the Air Force No. 5 Aviation School in 1969, he served in the Air Force for an extended period.
He was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army in 2004 and Commander of the Air Force in 2007, before being promoted to Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2012. When he was reappointed as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2017, he became second in the military hierarchy after President Xi.
Xu Qiliang is known to have played a significant role in helping President Xi consolidate control over the military after Xi was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party in 2012. He developed a connection with Xi during his service in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, from 1988 to 1993, when Xi was the Party Secretary of Fuzhou.
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