PLA ex-gen who led troops on India front gets parliament panel post

BEIJING: China has appointed

General Zhao Zongqi

, a former top People’s

Liberation Army officer

who oversaw the border with India, as the deputy chairman of the influential foreign affairs committee of the National People’s Congress (

NPC

), the country’s parliament.


General Zhao, 65, headed the

Western Command

during the

Doklam

faceoff in 2017 and Ladakh standoff in 2020.

As per regulations of the PLA, the retirement age for the top generals is 65. General Zhao was replaced by General Zhang Xudong in December last year.

The appointment comes ahead of the annual meeting of the NPC beginning from March 5. The NPC along with the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body, will hold their annual get-together for a week.