Zhao Zongqi (; born 1955) is a general ('' shang jiang'') of 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 a former Commander of the

Western Theater Command The Western Theater Command ()is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016. Its jurisdiction includes Sichuan, Tibet, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Chongqing. Guizhou ...

. Zhao was born in Bin County,

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a Provinces of China, province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is th ...

province. In his earlier year he was the deputy chief of staff of the

Tibet Military District The Tibet Military District is a military district of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force. It was first established in 1952, possibly from elements previously part of the 18th Corps. In December 1968 it became part of the Chengdu Military ...

. In August 1999, he was promoted to chief of staff of the Tibet Military District, then deputy commanding officer of the Chongqing Mobilization District. In October 2004, he was named commander of the

14th Group Army The 14th Army was an army level formation of the People's Liberation Army. 14th Corps 14th Corps () was activated on February 14, 1949 basing on 4th Column of Zhongyuan Field Army and defecting Republic of China Army 110th Division. The corps co ...

. In September 2007, he was transferred to the 13th Group Army as commander. In December 2007, he was named chief of staff of the general staff of the

Jinan Military Region The Jinan Military Region was a PLA Military Region located in the east of the People's Republic of China, covering the Shandong and Henan Provinces, which also formed military districts. It appears that Yang Dezhi was one of the first commander ...

. In November 2012 he was named commander of the Jinan Military Region. On July 31, 2015, he was promoted to the rank of general. On February 1, 2016, Zhao was named commander of the re-organized

and served in this position till December 2020. During his term in the Western Theatre, he oversaw China's response to the

2017 Doklam standoff Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

and the management of 2020 standoff with India in Ladakh. On February 28, 2021, he was appointed vice-chairperson of the National People's Congress Foreign Affairs Committee. Zhao was a member of the

18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was elected by the 18th National Congress on 15 November 2012, and sat in plenary sessions until the communing of the 19th National Congress in 2017. It was formally proceeded by the 17t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Zongqi 1955 births Living people People's Liberation Army generals from Heilongjiang Politicians from Harbin Commanders of the Jinan Military Region Members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Chiefs of Staff of the Jinan Military Region Commanders of Western Theater Command Chinese Communist Party politicians from Heilongjiang People's Republic of China politicians from Heilongjiang Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party