China’s military parade next month will offer a rare opportunity for outsiders to observe which generals are valued by the People’s Liberation Army top brass.
The PLA does not publish regular updates on its personnel changes, so the identity of those given prominent roles will provide clues about who might be in line for more senior positions.
But the absence of certain figures may also offer clues about who has fallen foul of the ongoing anti-corruption campaign within the military, which has seen at least 16 military deputies removed from the current National People’s Congress (NPC) since it first sat in March 2023.
The parade in Beijing – to mark victory over Japan in the Second World War – will be commanded by a full general who will ride behind President Xi Jinping’s car to inspect the formations at the start of the event.
These will parade along Changan Avenue while formations of fighters fly overhead, each detachment likely to be led by two generals.
At the last event of this kind, the 2019 National Day parade, featured four full generals, two lieutenant generals and 83 major generals, leading 15 marching formations, 32 equipment formations and 12 airborne echelons.
