China removes General Zhao Zongqi from key positions

General Zhao Zongqi, the former commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Western Theater Command, has been stripped of his Communist Party membership and removed from several key positions. The decision was approved by the standing committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Zhao was also removed from his roles as vice chairman of the Committee on Ethnic and Religious Affairs and as a member of the CPPCC.

Zhao commanded the Western Theater Command from 2016 to 2020, a period that included the 2017 Doklam standoff and the 2020 Galwan Valley border clashes with India. The Western Theater Command is responsible for military operations in Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as much of the border with India.

In a broader crackdown, China also removed two other senior military officers, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, from the Central Military Commission following investigations into suspected serious violations of discipline and law.