Xu Qiling (; born July 1962) is a

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

('' Shangjiang'') of the

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

(PLA). He was the 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. ...

. He formerly served as commander of the Western Theater Command Ground Force, commander of the

Eastern Theater Command The Eastern Theater Command () is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), founded 1 February 2016. It replaced the Nanjing Military Region. The command is headquartered in Nanjing. Its jurisdiction includes J ...

Ground Force, and commander of the

79th Group Army The 79th Group Army (), formerly the 39th Group Army, is a military formation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Forces (PLAGF). The 79th Group Army is one of twelve total group armies of the PLAGF, the largest echelon of ground fo ...

Biography

Born in

Huaiyang District Huaiyang District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Zhoukou in the east of Henan province, People's Republic of China. During the Spring and Autumn period the capital of the state of Chen was located there. The Chinese Ma clique ...

Zhoukou Zhoukou (; postal: Chowkow) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Henan province, China. It borders Zhumadian to the southwest, Xuchang and Luohe to the west, Kaifeng to the northwest, Shangqiu to the northeast, and the province of Anhui on all ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

in July 1962, Xu served in

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 commande ...

before serving as the chief of staff for the

54th Group Army The 83rd Group Army (), formerly the 54th Group Army, is a military formation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Forces (PLAGF). The 83rd Group Army is one of twelve total group armies of the PLAGF, the largest echelon of ground f ...

. He served as deputy commander of the

Central Theater Command The Central Theater Command () is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army of China, and was founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessors were the Beijing Military Region and Jinan Military Region. The Internationa ...

in 2016 and held that office until March 2017, when he was appointed commander of the

. He rose in rank to become commander of the

Ground Force in December 2018, replacing

Qin Weijiang Qin Weijiang (; born December 1955) is a retired lieutenant general ('' zhongjiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who served as Commander of the Eastern Theater Command Ground Force between January 2016 and December 2018. Prior to that, ...

. In April 2020, Xu was transferred to the

and appointed commander of its ground force. Xu was awarded the rank of lieutenant general by the Central Military Commission Chairman Xi Jinping on 11 December 2019 and later to the rank of general on 5 July 2021. In June 2021, Xu was chosen to replace

Zhang Xudong Zhang Xudong (; November 1962 – 1 October 2021) was a general (''Jiang (rank), Shangjiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. He was commander of the Western Theater Command. He was promoted to the rank of major general (''Jiang ...

as commander of the

after

Zhang Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ...

left the post suffering from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

and

gastrointestinal The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...

problems.

died four months later in October. After only two months serving as commander, Xu also stepped down reportedly also out of poor health and amid a number of illnesses among both commanders and troops. Xu was transferred to the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC) to serve as vice chief. Xu was a delegate to the 13th National People's Congress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Qiling 1962 births People from Zhoukou Living people People's Liberation Army generals from Henan