Qi Jianguo

Background

Qi Jianguo was born in August 1952 in Wendeng, Shandong Province.

Education

He joined the PLA in 1970, and graduated from PLA Nanjing Army Commander College (南京陆军指挥学院) with a bachelor"s degree.

Career

He has been Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Department, and its successor, the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, since 2012. He formerly served as Commander of the 12th Group Army and Director of Combat of the PLA General Staff. A participant in the Sino-Vietnamese conflicts, he is one of the few serving PLA generals with battle experience.

In his early years he worked as a sent-down youth in Dengzhou, Henan Province.

Qi joined the PLA as an ordinary soldier and rose through the army ranks. He was a battalion commander at the Battle of Laoshan (老山) during the Sino-Vietnamese conflicts.

He is one of the few serving generals of the PLA with actual battle experience. Qi served as Commander of the 12th Group Army from 2002 to 2005, Director of Combat of the PLA General Staff Department from 2005 to 2008, Assistant to the Chief of General Staff from 2009 to 2012, and was promoted to Deputy Chief of General Staff in 2012.

He was also head of the China International Institute for Strategic Society, with responsibility for military intelligence and diplomacy, until being replaced by Sun Jianguo, a fellow Deputy Chief of General Staff, in 2013.

Qi was one of the military commanders of the relief efforts after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. After PLA re-organization in 2016, he essentially maintained his former post in the General Staff Department, then re-organized into the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.

Achievements

• Qi attained the rank of major general in March 2002, lieutenant general in July 2010, and full general in July 2014.

Membership

He is a full member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (2012−17).