What’s New: Major General Liu Geping (刘格平), commander of the Qinghai military region, has become a standing committee member of the Communist Party in the northwestern province, replacing Major General Qu Shaoyong (曲少勇), who has been transferred to Sichuan province.
Liu appeared in public in his new role for the first time during a party committee meeting of the military region on Jan. 7, according to the Qinghai Daily (link in Chinese).
He has previously been a sub-regional commander in the People's Liberation Army's Western Theater (西部军区) and a military department head in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (新疆生产建设兵团).
Why it matters: Liu is the latest regional military commander to be appointed to provincial party leadership. Regional military commander appointments to provincial party leadership is done through a process known as a “standing committee member in military uniform (戎装常委)” — a mechanism first introduced in 2007 to facilitate better coordination between local military and civilian affairs in all 31 mainland provincial-level regions.
This is the latest appointment in a new round of reshuffles. New appointments by the military standing committee members in two regions, including Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, have yet to be announced.
Contact reporter Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com) and editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)
