Ding Laihang

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ding.

Ding Laihang (Chinese: 丁来杭; born September 1957) is a general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) who served as Commander of People's Liberation Army Air Force from 2017 to 2021. Prior to that, he was commander of the Shenyang Military Region Air Force and then commander of the Northern Theater Command Air Force.

Air Force General Ding Laihang
丁来杭
Ding in 2009
12th Commander of the People's Liberation Army Air Force
In office August 2017 – September 2021[1]
Preceded by	Ma Xiaotian
Succeeded by	Chang Dingqiu
Commander of the Northern Theater Command Air Force
In office February 2016 – August 2017
Preceded by	New position
Succeeded by	Xu Xueqiang
Commander of the Shenyang Military Region Air Force
In office August 2012 – January 2016
Preceded by	Zhou Laiqiang
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	September 1957 (age 67) Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Military service
Allegiance	People's Republic of China
Branch/service	People's Liberation Army Air Force
Years of service	?–2021
Rank	Air Force General
Commands	People's Liberation Army Air Force Northern Theater Command Air Force Shenyang Military Region Air Force
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	丁来杭
Traditional Chinese	丁來杭
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dīng Láiháng

Biography

Ding was born in September 1957 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.^[2] He became regimental commander of Regiment 71 of 24th Fighter Aviation Division while in his early 30s. From the position of division deputy commander he moved to command of a training base in the Beijing Military Region Air Force, a divisional unit. Like Ma Zhenjun, he emphasized combat-realistic "Red versus Blue" training.^[3]

In 2001, he was swiftly promoted to chief of staff of the 8th Corps, deployed on the Taiwan Front, reaching the deputy corps level at the age of 44. When the 8th Corps was reorganized down to the Fuzhou Forward Commanding Post in 2003, Ding was its founding head. In 2007 he was promoted to be president of PLA Air Force Command Academy. A year later he was transferred to the Chengdu Military Region Air Force as its chief of staff. Ding was one of the youngest senior officers among the seven PLAAF Military Regions (at the full corps rank).^[3]

In August 2012, Ding was promoted to commander of the Shenyang Military Region Air Force, as well as Deputy Commander of the Shenyang MR.^[2] In February 2016, he was appointed the inaugural Air Force commander and deputy commander of the Northern Theater Command, which was newly established in Xi Jinping's military reform.^[4] In August 2017, he was promoted to commander of the PLA Air Force, succeeding General Ma Xiaotian.^[5]

Ding attained the rank of major general in July 2003, and lieutenant general (zhong jiang) in July 2013. He was a member of the 11th National People's Congress.^[2] In October 2017, he was elected as a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.^[6] On 31 July 2019 he was promoted to General.^[7]

Downfall

Further information: Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping

In November 2023, Ding was put under investigation for a corruption case involving the construction of Beijing Xijiao Airport.^[8] On December 4, he was dismissed from his position as a representative of the 14th National People's Congress on suspicion of "serious violations of discipline and law".^[9][10][11]