五大战区 (wudà zhànqū): Five Theater Commands

On Monday, President Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, conferred military flags to the five newly established theater commands of the People's Liberation Army at a ceremony at the commission's headquarters in Beijing.

The five new theater commands are the Eastern Theater Command, Southern Theater Command, Western Theater Command, Northern Theater Command and Central Theater Command. They replace the previous seven regional commands.

Commander Liu Yuejun and Zheng Weiping, political commissar of the Eastern Theater Command, Commander Wang Jiaocheng and Wei Liang, political commissar of the Southern Theater Command, Commander Zhao Zongqi and Zhu Fuxi, political commissar of the Western Theater Command, Commander Song Puxuan and Chu Yimin, political commissar of the Northern Theater Command, and Commander Han Weiguo and Yin Fanglong, political commissar of the Central Theater Command, received the flags. At the ceremony, President Xi called on the theater commands to keep their duties in mind and resolutely implement the country's military strategies.

The newly implemented military structure, in which the Central Military Commission takes charge of the overall military administration, theatre commands focus on combat and the different military branches pursue their own development, must be resolutely observed, Xi said.

The new command system aims to improve the military's joint operational capabilities.