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General Zhang Youxia: Xi Jinping’s ‘sworn brother’ now his deputy on China’s top military body

Zhang Youxia grew up with Chinese President and their fathers served together in army

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General Zhang Youxia oversaw China’s lunar exploration and manned space projects during Xi Jinping’s first five-year term. Illustration: Henry Wong

General Zhang Youxia is one of the two vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission. Here we take a look at his career:

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General Zhang Youxia, 67, a close ally of President Xi Jinping, was promoted to second-ranked vice-chairman of China’s powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) at the first plenum of the Communist Party’s new Central Committee on Wednesday.

The former director of the CMC’s Equipment Development Department is widely considered one of the men party chief and CMC chairman Xi trusts most. Military experts said his family background had made him a hot tip for a CMC vice-chairmanship in Xi’s second five-year term.

Both Xi and Zhang are Shaanxi natives and “second-generation reds” – the children of revolutionaries. Their fathers were comrades from the 1940s.

“Xi once saw Zhang, who is three years older than him, as his elder brother, and so did Xi’s sisters,” a Shanghai-based retired People’s Liberation Army (PLA) senior colonel told the South China Morning Post.

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