General Fan Changlong tipped for top post in China military commission

The commander of the PLA's Jinan Military Area Command, General Fan Changlong, is being seen as a "dark horse" for one of the two military vice-chairmanships of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) after next month's Communist Party leadership transition.

Fan has been "elected" one of the 2,270 delegates to the party's five-yearly national congress, which will begin on November 8, and it is generally believed that marks him for further promotion, despite his relatively advanced age - 65.

A source familiar with military affairs said Fan's career prospects seemed promising. "He is likely to secure a vice-chairman's seat or, at the very least, be promoted to chief of general staff following the party congress," the source said.

If Fan does become one of the CMC's three vice-chairmen - two of them from the PLA - he will also become a member of the party's powerful Politburo, which will rule the country for the next five years.

Apart from General Zhao Keshi, commander of the Nanjing Military Area Command, other top brass of the same rank and age as Fan - including Admiral Tong Shiping, deputy director of the People's Liberation Army's general political department, General Wang Guosheng, commander of the Lanzhou Military Area Command, General Chen Guoling, political commissar of the Nanjing Military Area Command, and General Deng Changyou, political commissar of the air force - failed to be named as delegates to the party congress.

Normally, a provincial- or ministerial-level official - which includes the commanders of military areas - faces the prospect of imminent retirement when they reach the age of 63, unless they have bright political prospects.