Military

Nearly 50 High-Ranking Chinese Military Officials to Step Down in 2017

The major reshuffle in the PLA, which will include 18 full-ranking generals, is supposed to be carried out before the 19th National Communist Party Congress scheduled for this autumn as part of the army modernization plan, the South China Morning Post reported, citing its sources.

The changes are aimed at creating a new generation of officers, while veterans should give way to younger candidates to run the army, the newspaper reported. Many of the officers to step down are reportedly near the retirement age. In September 2015, Xi announced that the PLA would cut its ranks by 300,000 to total 2 million troops by 2017, still maintaining its lead as the world’s largest army.