2025年12月22日19:12（GMT+8）报导称，习近平在一次将官晋升仪式上更换中部与东部军区主官，背景是对高层国防系统「前所未有」的整肃；这也是他「今年首次」公开的晋升仪式。

新任命包含两个关键战区：杨志斌出任负责台湾方向行动的东部战区司令员；韩胜延出任中央战区司令员。中央战区防卫范围涵盖北京、天津及另外5个省份，合计7个行政区域相关兵力。

人事调整延续了年内的清洗节奏：原东部战区司令林向阳于2025年10月因违纪违法被免；原中央战区司令王强在2025年9月北京阅兵无故缺席且其去向未披露。整肃已波及火箭军等核心力量，并拿下2名前国防部长；彭博称其规模为1976年毛泽东时代结束以来最大，亦与9月展示新式无人机与核武的现代化讯号并行。

On Dec. 22, 2025 (7:12 PM GMT+8), reports said Xi Jinping reshuffled commanders in China’s central and eastern military regions during a general promotion ceremony—his first such ceremony this year—amid an “unprecedented” purge of top defense ranks.

Two theater commands central to domestic defense and Taiwan contingencies were reassigned: Gen. Yang Zhibin became commander of the Eastern Theater Command (Taiwan operations), and Gen. Han Shengyan became commander of the Central Theater Command. The Central Theater’s remit spans Beijing, Tianjin, and five other provinces—7 areas in total.

The personnel changes track a month-by-month tightening in 2025: the prior Eastern commander Lin Xiangyang was removed in October for party-discipline and legal violations, while ex-Central commander Wang Qiang missed a September Beijing parade without explanation and his next post was not disclosed. The purge has expanded beyond the Rocket Force to the wider defense establishment, including two former defense ministers; Bloomberg characterized it as the biggest since Mao Zedong’s era ended in 1976, even as September displays of drones and nuclear weapons signaled continued modernization.