Lin Xiangyang

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lin.

Lin Xiangyang (Chinese: 林向阳; born October 1964) is a general (shangjiang) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who is the current commander of Eastern Theater Command, in office since January 2022.

Lin Xiangyang
林向阳
Lin at a US–China military exchange
Commander of Eastern Theater Command
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2022
Preceded by	He Weidong
Commander of Central Theater Command
In office August 2021 – January 2022
Preceded by	Yi Xiaoguang
Succeeded by	Wu Yanan
Commander of Eastern Theater Command Ground Force
In office April 2020 – August 2021
Preceded by	Xu Qiling
Succeeded by	Kong Jun
Personal details
Born	October 1964 (age 60) Haikou, Fujian, China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Alma mater	PLA Army Infantry Academy
Military service
Allegiance	People's Republic of China
Branch/service	People's Liberation Army Ground Force
Years of service	1982–present
Rank	General
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	林向阳
Traditional Chinese	林向陽
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lín Xiàngyáng

Biography

Born in the town of Haikou, Fuqing, Fujian, in October 1964,^[1] he graduated from PLA Army Infantry Academy. He was deputy commander of the 31st Group Army before serving as commander of the 47th Group Army in 2016.^[2] He was commander of the newly founded 82nd Group Army in March 2017,^[3] and held that office until April 2019, when he was appointed commander of the 72nd Group Army. He became commander of Eastern Theater Command Ground Force in April 2020, and served until August 2021.^[4] In August 2021, he rose to become commander of Central Theater Command, replacing Yi Xiaoguang.^[5][6] In January 2022, he was assigned as commander of Eastern Theater Command.^[7]

He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general (zhongjiang) in July 2020 and general (shangjiang) in September 2021.^[8][9]