Key promotions in PLA signal recognition of technocrats

Two of the PLA's rising stars have been named regional air force commanders - a sign that technocrats are coming to the fore as the military's modernisation continues.

A third regional air command has gone to the son of one of communist China's founding fathers who overcame punishment five years ago for the worst plane crash in recent PLA air force history.

Major General Zhang Jianping, 54, won promotion to air force commander of the Jinan military region, while Major General Yi Xiaoguang, 52, is the new air force commander in the Nanjing military region, the semi-official China News Service reported.

The promotions make them the youngest of the seven regional air force commanders. Both joined the air force while still in their teens, and both have outstanding merits and achievements. They took part in Sino-Russia anti-terrorism exercises in 2005 and 2009.

Zhang became, at 27, the youngest People's Liberation Army regimental commander and, at 36, the youngest aviation teacher in the air force. Yi was a command pilot and an all-weather flight instructor with flying capability in the Yunnan plateau. In his time off, he compiled an English-Chinese dictionary for Chinese pilots, which was released nationwide.

Military analyst Anthony Wong Dong, president of the International Military Association in Macau, said Zhang and Yi's promotions showed that outstanding professional and technically skilled officers now had more chance of promotion.

'The PLA air force has many talented men like Zhang and Yi, but it was rare for them to get a chance at promotion in the past,' Wong said.