Zhuang Kezhu (; born February 1955) is a lieutenant general (''

zhong jiang Jiang ( formerly romanized chiang and usually translated general) is a general officer rank used by China and Taiwan. It is also used as jang in North and South Korea, shō in Japan, and tướng in Vietnam. Chinese People's Liberation Army T ...

'') of the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

(PLAAF) of China. He was the inaugural 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 International Inst ...

Air Force, serving from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, he served as the Air Force Commander of the

Beijing Military Region The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid-1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, ...

and the

Lanzhou Military Region The Lanzhou Military Region was one of seven military regions in the People's Republic of China. It directed all People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police forces in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Ngari Prefecture in no ...

Biography

Zhuang was born in February 1955 in

Yanji Yanji (; Korean: ; alternately romanized as Yenki or Yenji) is a county-level city in the east of China's Jilin Province, and is the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Yanji City is located in the eastern part of Jilin Province. ...

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

Province. He joined the PLA in March 1974, and the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

in August 1976. He holds a graduate degree in computer software and theory from

Yunnan Normal University Yunnan Normal University (; YNNU) is a provincial public normal university in Kunming, Yunnan, China. The university is co-sponsored by the Yunnan Province and the Ministry of Education. History Established in 1938 as the Normal College of the ...

. Zhuang rose quickly in his early career. He was commander of the 33rd Fighter Division, the top division in

Southwest China Southwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Xizang. Geography Southwestern China is a rugged and mountainous region, ...

and always the first combat unit to equip with new generation aircraft in that region. He was promoted to commander of the Kunming Forward Headquarters in 1999. In 2005 he was transferred to Beijing to serve as assistant chief of staff of the PLAAF, in charge of combat plans and training of air force units in the southwest. He has thus gained valuable access to the top air force leadership on the one hand and had rich commanding experience at the basic campaign units on the other. In January 2005, he became chief of staff of the

Air Force. In July 2010, he was transferred to the same position in the

Guangzhou Military Region The Guangzhou Military Region was from 1955 to 2016 one of the People's Liberation Army PLA Military Regions, located in the south of the People's Republic of China. In May 1949, the Central China (Hua Zhong) Military Region (MR) was formed. In M ...

Air Force. In December 2011, he was promoted to Commander of the Lanzhou Military Region Air Force and Deputy Commander of the Lanzhou MR. In July 2013, he was transferred to the

to serve as its air force commander and deputy MR commander. When

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to: *Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China. *Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

reorganized the military in January 2016, Zhuang was appointed the inaugural commander of the

Air Force, and Liu Shaoliang became the first political commissar. After reaching the age of 63, Zhuang was replaced by Lt. Gen. Han Shengyan () as commander in December 2018. Zhuang attained the rank of major general in July 2002 and lieutenant general in July 2013. He was a member of the

12th National People's Congress The 12th National People's Congress (NPC) was elected in national congressional conferences from October 2012 to February 2013 and was in session from 2013 to 2018. It succeeded the 11th National People's Congress. It held five plenary sessions ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhuang, Kezhu 1955 births Living people People's Liberation Army generals from Jilin People's Liberation Army Air Force generals People from Yanbian