Cheng Li also identified that none of the 41 military leaders with full membership on the 18th Central Committee belong to the sixth generation. At the same time, Xi Jinping has promoted a number of sixth generation officers to higher positions in the ongoing large-scale military reforms in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and People’s Armed Police (PAP) and they are tipped to enter the CCP CC at the 19th Party Congress.. Included among them are the following PLA Lieutenant Generals: Political Commissar of the Logistics Support Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC) Zhang Shuguo (张书国 - b. 1960); Deputy Director of the Logistics Support Department of the CMC Qian Yiping (钱毅平 - b. 1960); Director of the Science and Technology Commission of the CMC Liu Guozhi (刘国治 - b. 1960); Director of the Training Management Department of the CMC Li Huohui (黎火辉 - b. 1963); Army Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (刘振立 - b. 1964); Air Force Chief of Staff Ma Zhenjun (麻振军 - b. 1962); Deputy Commander of the Rocket Force Zhang Zhenzhong (张振中 - b. 1961); Chief of Staff of the Rocket Force Li Chuanguang (李传广 - b. 1961); and Deputy Commander of the Strategic Support Force Rao Kaixun (饶开勋 - b. 1964). All born in the 1960s, they have been fast-tracked for promotion. For example, Zhang Shuguo was promoted from Commissar of the 39th Group Army to Deputy Commissar of the Chengdu Military Region in January 2015. Six months later, he was appointed Director of the Political Department of the Beijing Military Region. Five months after that, he was appointed Director of the Political Department of the newly established PLA Army Headquarters. In March 2017, he assumed his current position. Thus, in a span of only two and a half years, he was promoted four times. Liu Zhenli experienced a similarly accelerated rise. In 2014, he was transferred from his post as Commander of the 65th Group Army and became Commander of the 38th Group Army, then the most elite group army in the PLA. A year later, Liu Zhenli was appointed Chief of Staff of the PAP, where he served for only five months before being promoted to his current position in December 2015. Zhang Shuguo and Liu Zhenli are widely regarded as Xi Jinping’s protégés in the PLA. Other PLA officers on the fast track are the President of the PLA's Academy of Military Science Yang Xuejun 杨学军 (b. 1963) and Deputy Commander of the Easter Theater of Operation Yang Hui 杨晖 (b. 1963).
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