Chen Bingde Explained

Office1:Chief of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department
Term Start1:September 2007
Term End1:October 2012
Predecessor1:Liang Guanglie
Successor1:Fang Fenghui
Office2:Head of the People's Liberation Army General Armaments Department
Term Start2:September 2004
Term End2:September 2007
Predecessor2:Li Jinai
Successor2:Chang Wanquan
Chen Bingde
Native Name:陈炳德
Native Name Lang:zh
Birth Place:Nantong, Jiangsu, China
Party:Chinese Communist Party
Alma Mater:PLA Military Academy
Serviceyears:1961–2012
Rank: General

Chen Bingde (; born July 1941) is a retired general (shangjiang) in the People's Liberation Army (PLA). He was the Director-General of the General Armaments Department until September 2007. In this position he acted as the head of the space program of China. He then served as chief of the PLA General Staff Department. He retired in 2012, and was succeeded by General Fang Fenghui as chief of General Staff.

Biography

Chen was born July 1941 in Nantong, Jiangsu. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1962 and has been a member of the CCP Central Military Commission since 2004. He was former chief of the Nanjing Military Region, a crucial region in Beijing's military strategy against Taiwan.

In 2004, he was promoted to the director of the General Armaments Department as well as the secretary of CCP's committee. In 2007 he was promoted to head of General Staff Department. He attained the rank of major general in September 1988, lieutenant general in July 1995, and general in 2002. He was a member of CCP's 15th, 16th and 17th central committees.

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