The youngest lieutenant general in the People's Liberation Army has recently been given pole position in the jockeying for a seat on the Central Military Commission (CMC) during an expected restructuring next year.
In his new role as deputy director of the PLA's General Armaments Department, Lieutenant General Zhang Yulin, 53, formerly the president of National University of Defence Technology, visited Shaoshan, the hometown of Mao Zedong, on July 3, according to the Shaoshan authorities' website.
Zhang, a prominent astronautical engineer, is generally considered one of the strongest contenders to succeed General Chang Wanquan to head the army's armament department.
Zeng Zhiping, a military expert at Nanchang Institute of Technology in Jiangxi province, said: 'Zhang is very likely to take over from General Chang, who will almost undoubtedly be promoted as one of the CMC's vice-chairmen around the Communist Party's 18th national congress in autumn next year.'
However, Zhang has to compete with other potential candidates such as Lieutenant General Zhang Youxia, currently the commander of Shenyang military region. The General Armaments Department's director is an ex officio member of the CMC - the PLA's supreme decision-making body.
'I have little doubt regarding Lieutenant General Zhang Yulin's ability to be the General Armaments Department's chief, as he is very familiar with armament affairs after serving as the head of the National University of Defence Technology for years,' said Zeng.