CENTRAL THEATER COMMAND
Key Takeaway
- The Central Theater Command’s mission is the defense of Beijing while providing support to other theater commands.
The Central Theater Command’s primary responsibility is to defend the capital and CCP leadership while providing a strategic reserve to the other theater commands. It is centrally located, connecting the four remaining theater commands. Major military units under the Central Theater Command military include the PLAA’s 81st, 82nd, and 83rd Group Armies; and the PLAAF’s 13th Transport Division, 34th VIP Transport Division, 36th Bomber Division, 15th Airborne Corps, and the Shijiazhuang Flying Academy. Other assets in the Central Theater Command include PLA Rocket Force and the Wuhan and Datong Bases.
2022 Central Theater Command Leadership
Commander—General Wu Ya'nan [吴亚男]
Previous position: Deputy Chief, Joint Staff Department, CMC
DOB: August 1962
Age: 60
Birthplace: Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province [河北省石家庄市]
Education: Unknown
Political Commissar—General Xu Deqing [徐德清]
Previous position: Political Commissar, Western Theater Command Army; Deputy Political Commissar, Western Theater Command
DOB: July 1963
Age: 59
Birthplace: Chongzhou, Chengdu, Sichuan Province [四川省成都市崇州市]
Education: Unknown
Chief of Staff—Vice Admiral Wang Changjiang [王长江]
Previous position: Deputy Commander of the Northern Theater Command
DOB: February 1959
Age: 63
Birthplace: Luanzhou, Tangshan, Hebei Province [河北省唐山市滦州市]
Education: The PLA Air Force's Fourth Aviation Academy
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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China
