Xu Qiliang (; born March 1950) is an air force general in the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

(PLAAF) of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He currently serves as a Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China. Until 2022, he served as a Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party. He served as a member of the 18th and the

19th 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...

Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ...

. He was promoted from Commander of the PLAAF from 2007 to 2012.

Biography

Born in

Linqu County Linqu County () is a county, originally known as "Pianyi", located in the southwest of Weifang and the middle of Shandong Peninsula, Shandong Province, China. Linqu also has the name Zhuxu County. It covers an area of and governs 937 villages w ...

, Shandong to a peasant's family, he entered the PLA and its Air Force No. 1 aeronautic preparatory school in 1966, learned piloting, and joined the Chinese Communist Party the following year. Later he transferred to the Air Force No. 8 and No. 5 aeronautic schools. He became a pilot after graduation in August 1969. Xu was promoted to head of the military division in 1983, and vice army corps commander the next year. In 1985, he became chief of staff at the Air Force Shanghai headquarters, and also entered the PLA National Defense University for training. He was promoted to corps commander of the PLA Air Force in 1991 and was made a major general. In 1993, he became vice chief of staff of the Air Force and studied at the National Defense University again. After graduation, he was promoted to chief of staff of the PLA Air Force. He was made a lieutenant general in 1996. In 1999, Xu became the vice commander and Air Force 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, whi ...

, and studied at the National Defense University for the 3rd time in 2001. He was elevated to vice chief of staff of the PLA General Staff Department. He was made a full general on June 20, 2007, and became the commander of the PLA Air Force in September of that year. In October 2012, he was China's first career air force officer promoted to Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission and was succeeded as Air Force Commander by General Ma Xiaotian. He is also a member of the 19th

. He has been an alternate member of the 14th and 15th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party, and a full member of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Central Committees. In July 2018, Xu met in Beijing with the US Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, to discuss regional issues and where the two men each laid out his country's military concerns before the other.

Awards and decorations

Military ribbons within the People's Republic of China only reflect the wearer's echelon and time in service. Consequently, Xu's ribbon rack, being seven rows high, indicates he is at the Central Military Commission (CMC) level, the gold ribbon with a single star indicates he is a member of the CMC, and the rest of his ribbons indicate his time in service through a combination of one, two, three, and four-year service ribbons totaling forty-six years.

References

China Vitae - Xu Qiliang
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Qiliang Living people 1950 births Members of the 19th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party People's Liberation Army generals from Shandong Commanders of the People's Liberation Army Air Force People from Weifang PLA National Defence University alumni Members of the 18th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party