Chinese military’s security chief Wang Renhua elevated to top rank of general

President Xi Jinping has promoted the PLA’s security chief to the rank of general, a departure from recent practice that comes amid a purge of military leaders.

Wang Renhua, head of the Central Military Commission’s Political and Legal Affairs Commission, was elevated to the highest rank for officers in active service on Thursday.

Wang, 62, is the third security chief of the People’s Liberation Army since a major overhaul of the military in 2015. He took up the job in late 2019 and was promoted to lieutenant general.

Xi Jinping (front row, centre) poses for a photo with top military brass and two newly promoted generals, Wang Renhua (back row, left) and Xiao Tianliang (back row, right), in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

He becomes the first general to serve in this position since the overhaul – his predecessor Song Dan was a lieutenant general when he was security chief, as was Li Xiaofeng before him.

It comes as the ruling Communist Party is ramping up a campaign targeting corruption in the military. In December, nine PLA generals – including a number of senior members of the PLA Rocket Force responsible for China’s nuclear arsenal – were dismissed from the top legislature.

Meanwhile, Li Shangfu – who has not been seen in public since August – was sacked as defence minister and state councillor in October, without explanation. Li was also removed from the CMC last month.

Others include aerospace company chairman Feng Jiehong, who resigned from the legislature in February. Li Zhizhong, a lieutenant general who was deputy commander of the PLA’s Central Theatre Command, was also dismissed from the legislature.

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Wang heads the commission that oversees the military’s courts, procuratorates and prisons. It is responsible for formulating laws and regulations related to the military, including those protecting the rights of personnel.

Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at the Taiwanese naval academy in Kaohsiung, said Wang’s promotion could give both him and the commission more power.

“[This] means the elevation of his commission and military courts and military prosecutors’ office – not just a promotion for [Wang],” he said.

Lu added that the promotion would also give the commission more authority in the trials of senior generals.

Xi – who is also chairman of the CMC – presented Wang with a certificate of order to elevate him to the top rank at a ceremony in Beijing on Thursday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Xiao Tianliang, president of the PLA’s National Defence University, was also promoted to general, in line with past practice.

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Wang, who is originally from Sichuan province, has previously served as director of the political unit at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert, and as deputy head of the PLA Ground Force political work department. In 2017, he became chief of the graft-buster of the PLA Navy’s East Sea Fleet.

As PLA security chief, Wang is also a member of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, a party body that oversees all security-related matters.

Prior to the 2015 military overhaul, PLA security chiefs were generals who were also in charge of the CMC’s Commission for Discipline Inspection – the graft-buster responsible for investigating alleged wrongdoings by military officers.

Additional reporting by Amber Wang

South China Morning Post