Chinese General responsible for standoff visited India, assured of good relations 4 months back

General Zongqi is one of the few Chinese military commanders who has fought in the 1979 China-Vietnam war.

In the month of December 2016 General Zhao Zongqi, commander of the Chinese Western Theatre Command had paid a visit to India. He had met with the present Indian Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat and the Eastern Army Commander Lt. General Praveen Bakshi during his three day visit.

During the visit General Zongqi exchanged views on mil-to-mil relations between the two countries and especially the cooperation between the PLA Western Theater Command and the Indian military. Both India and China had agreed to make positive contributions to the stable development of relations.

This is the same Chinese general who is responsible for the area on the Sikkim border where both India and China are in a stand off for the past three weeks.

General Zhao Zongqi, commander of the Chinese Western Theatre Command, who is responsible for the Indian border, has around one-third of the 2.26-million strong Chinese military under his command since February 2016.

The Chinese general is a very senior member of the Communist Party and also a part of the central committee. He is a military commander and has ample knowledge of mountain warfare. In China he is considered to be a rising star of the Chinese military.

General Zongqi is one of the few Chinese military commanders who has fought in the 1979 China-Vietnam war. He is fluent with Tibet and Arabic and had even gone undercover in 1979 which makes his rating very high. His close relations to the PLA chief and popularity is a worry for India. If he decides to escalate the tensions at the border, then he will get the full support of his command.

OneIndia News