While the ongoing purge continues to haunt the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer corps – as seen, for example, in the June 26 removal of six military lawmakers from the National People’s Congress – there are signs that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has started assembling the cornerstones of a new Central Military Commission (CMC).
On July 3, a promotion ceremony was held at the CMC headquarters, where two lieutenant generals – Zhang Shuguang of the Army and Wang Gang of the Air Force – were elevated to the rank of general. At the same time, Zhang was appointed as the new secretary of the CMC Discipline Inspection Commission and Wang became the new Air Force commander.
A career political officer, Zhang has spent the last decade in the PLA’s graft-busting discipline inspection system, with experiences at the CMC-level, as well as in the Air Force and Army. This background makes him well-prepared to succeed Zhang Shengmin to lead the Discipline Inspection Commission, which has been indispensable in overseeing the PLA purge.
By contrast, the new Air Force chief Wang Gang seems to fit the definition of a professional military officer. Wang began his career as a pilot before rising to command an Air Force division. Later, Wang served as the director of the Air Force training department (2012–2016), assistant Air Force chief of staff (2016–2019), central theater command Air Force chief of staff (2019–2022), Air Force chief of staff (2022–2025), deputy Air Force commander (2025–2026), and finally the current commander of the Air Force.
