There were speculations on social media indicating that a military coup was underway in China, with rumors abuzz on popular Indian social media promoting it fiercely. These rumors suggested that General Li Qiaoming had replaced President Xi Jinping as the Chinese President in September 2022.
Swamy Subramanian, an Indian politician, tweeted that recently in Samarkand, Xi, the leader of the Communist Party of China, was supposed to be removed from his position as the in-charge of the Party’s Army. The rumor goes that Xi’s arrest followed.
New rumour to be checked out: Is Xi jingping under house arrest in Beijing ? When Xi was in Samarkand recently, the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party were supposed to have removed Xi from the Party’s in-charge of Army. Then House arrest followed. So goes the rumour.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) September 24, 2022
The selection of Li as a member of the Politburo and the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the 20th Communist Party was just a rumor at first, but it later turned out to be true news in the month of October.
This indicates that Li may not be replaced by Xi, who has impressed the President with his tight grip on the Chinese Communist Party.
On January 4th, the 61-year-old Li made his debut as the Commander of the PLA Ground Forces in South China, marking a significant turning point in events. He had reportedly resigned from his position as the Commander of the Northern Theater three months ago.

The Northern Theatre Command holds great strategic importance, and Li’s previous role was equally crucial. The autonomous area of Inner Mongolia and the provinces of Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang, which are part of it, share borders with Russia, North Korea, and Mongolia. Additionally, it is situated adjacent to the Korean peninsula, with Shandong also being incorporated within its jurisdiction.
The appointment of Li is remarkable due to his relatively young age for holding such a position. The ceremony to commence training in the New Year was attended by over 1,000 soldiers, where Li was introduced as the Commander of the PLA’s land-based division, as stated in a post shared by the official WeChat account of the ground force.
In December 2019, Li was granted a promotion to the position of general, which is the utmost level of achievement for an officer in China’s military. In order to encourage the advancement of fresh and youthful individuals to higher positions, his appointment might be indicative of a novel strategy implemented by the Central Military Commission (CMC).
After purging several high-ranking military officials in his campaign against corruption, Xi started introducing reforms to promote young officers who were not influenced much by the anti-graft campaign.
Lately, President Xi seems to have been greatly impressed by General Li, if certain reports are to be believed. This impression might have been influenced by Li’s recent appointment.
Enrolled in the armed forces when he was only 15 years old, Li, hailing from the island province of Henan, dedicated several years to his service in the Guangzhou Military Region, which was disbanded in 2016 and subsequently restructured as the Southern Theatre Command.
He served as the chief of staff for the 41st Army Corps, among other important posts in the region.
Li argued in a 2013 article published in the government-owned political publication Red Flag that the Party disarmed itself because the Soviet Union fell apart.
He wrote, “The lesson is profound. The Party and the Soviet Union fell apart. At the critical moment of the country, the Army stood up and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union gave its leadership over to the Army.”
This analysis resonated with Xi Jinping, the President who wanted to expand his control over the Central Military Commission and successfully achieved the feat of liberating the People’s Army.
Li continued to write about his studies on subjects including Russia’s incursions into Crimea and Syria, focusing on conflict resolution and military tactics in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
In September 2022, he stepped down after serving as the Commander of the theater for a period of five years. Subsequently, in the wake of a substantial military overhaul in 2015, which resulted in the establishment of the five theater commands, Li moved to the coastal province of Shandong to assume the position of lieutenant general in the Northern Theatre Command.
The main office of the PLA accommodates the Central Military Commission, where Liu presently holds the position of chief of staff. Prior to Li, Liu Zhenli, who was the ground force commander from June 2021 to December 2022, occupied the same role. General Liu Zhenli, a 58-year-old individual who served as the ground force commander, preceded Li.
The ascent of Liu and Li to positions of power has been interpreted as a hint that Beijing wishes to elevate their importance. These appointments are crucial for China as it expands its regional influence while engaging in great power competition with its allies in the Pacific Asia and the United States.