Zhang Youxia (; born July 1950) is a general in the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

(PLA) of China and currently the second-ranked

Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission The vice chairman of the Central Military Commission serves as the deputy to the CMC Chairman. Currently, two generals of the People's Liberation Army are serving as vice chairmen and they are He Weidong and Zhang Youxia. Party commissions ...

of the Central Military Commission (CMC). He previously served as Head of the CMC Equipment Development Department, and its predecessor, the PLA General Armaments Department, from 2012 to 2017. He is the son of General

Zhang Zongxun Zhang Zongxun (; 7 February 1908 – 14 September 1998) was a general of the People's Liberation Army of China. Career Zhang was born in Weinan, Shaanxi Province on 7 February 1908. He was enrolled in Whampoa Military Academy in 1926, and ...

. He is a veteran of the 1979

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1978, which ended the rule of the C ...

and one of the few serving generals in China with war experience.

Biography

Zhang was born and raised in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, but traces his ancestry to Yantou Village,

Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of S ...

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), ...

. He is the son of

, a Communist general in the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

, earning him princeling status. Zhang Youxia's father and

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

's father

Xi Zhongxun Xi Zhongxun (15 October 1913 – 24 May 2002) was a Chinese communist revolutionary and a subsequent political official in the People's Republic of China. He is considered to be among the first and second generation of Chinese leadership. ...

both hail from the Weinan region of

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

. Zhang attended Beijing Jingshan School. He joined the army in 1968 at 18 years of age. In 1976 he was serving in the 14th Group Army, stationed in

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

province; he was rapidly promoted. He took part in the border clashes of 1979 between China and Vietnam, and then the 1984

Battle of Laoshan The Battle of Laoshan (Chinese: 老山戰役), known in Vietnam as the Battle of Vị Xuyên ( Vietnamese: ''Mặt trận Vị Xuyên)'' was fought in 1984 between China and Vietnam as part of Sino-Vietnamese conflicts (1979–1991). It is consi ...

.Liu Yuanxun. 中国军队作战重大实录. Lhasa: People's Publisher of Tibet. May 2000. In August 2000, he was named commander of the 13th Group Army. In December 2005, he became the vice commander of the

Beijing Military Region The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid 1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, ...

. He was promoted to commander of the

Shenyang Military Region The Shenyang Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It has command and control of military and armed police forces in the three northeast provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning, w ...

in September 2007. He attained the rank of major general in 1997, and lieutenant general in 2007. In July 2011, he was promoted to General. Prior to the 18th Party Congress held in 2012, a wholesale re-shuffle of the PLA leadership took place. Zhang was tapped to replace

Chang Wanquan Chang Wanquan (; born January 1949) is the former Minister of Defense and State Councilor of the People's Republic of China and a general in the People's Liberation Army. He has been a member of the Central Military Commission of the People's Re ...

as director of the PLA General Armaments Department. In November 2012, as is customary for the directors of the "four big departments" of the PLA, Zhang was named a member of the Central Military Commission. In October 2017, Zhang was named

. Zhang is a member of the

19th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The 19th Central Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party () was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prim ...

. He was previously a member of the 17th and

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect numb ...

Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party. Although expected to retire under the Chinese Communist Party's informal retirement age, Zhang remained on the Politburo following the October 23 meeting and is presently a member of the

20th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The 20th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party () was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee on 23 October 2022, shortly following the 20th National Congress. It was nominally preceded by the 19th Politburo. Backgro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Youxia 1950 births Living people People's Liberation Army generals from Beijing Members of the 20th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 19th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Delegates to the 13th National People's Congress