BEIJING, July 4 -- On the day the United States marked its 250th birthday, Xi Jinping presided over a ceremony in Beijing that carried its own reckoning. China's supreme military commander presented promotion orders to two officers, elevating them to full general, a rank that until recently could be bestowed without marking anything exceptional. Zhang Shengmin, the CMC's remaining vice chairman, presided over the proceedings and read the promotion orders signed by Xi, Xinhua reported. In the summer of 2026, filling a general's vacancy in the People's Liberation Army requires accounting for who vacated it.

The two promoted were Zhang Shuguang and Wang Gang. Zhang becomes the new head of the Central Military Commission's Discipline Inspect...