Zhang Youxia

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Youxia
张又侠
Military service
Allegiance	China
Service/branch	People's Liberation Army
Years of service	1968–present
Rank	48px General
Commands	General Armaments Department

Zhang Youxia (Chinese: 张又侠; born July 1950) is a general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China and a current member of the Central Military Commission. He was appointed Director of the PLA General Armaments Department in October 2012. He is the son of General Zhang Zongxun, and a veteran of the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War. He is one of the few serving generals in China with war experience.

Biography

Zhang was born and raised in Beijing, but traces his ancestry to Yantou Village, Weinan, Shaanxi Province. He is the son of Zhang Zongxun, a Communist general in the Chinese Civil War. Zhang Youxia's father and Xi Jinping's father Xi Zhongxun both hail form the Weinan region of Shaanxi.

Zhang attended Beijing Jingshan School. He joined the army in 1968 at 18 years of age. In 1976 he was serving with the 14th Group Army, stationed in Yunnan province; he was rapidly promoted. He took part in the border clashes of 1979 between China and Vietnam, and then the 1984 Battle of Vị Xuyên.

In August 2000, he was named commander of the 13th Group Army. In December 2005, he became the vice commander of the PLA Beijing Military Region. He was promoted to commander of the Shenyang Military Region in September 2007. He attained the rank of major general in 1997, and lieutenant general in 2007. In July 2011, he was promoted to General. Prior to the 18th Party Congress held in 2012, a wholesale re-shuffle of the PLA leadership took place. Zhang was tapped to replace Chang Wanquan as director of the People's Liberation Army General Armaments Department. In November 2012, as is customary for the directors of the "four big departments" of the PLA, Zhang was named a member of the Central Military Commission.

Zhang is a member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and was previously a member of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.