Chi Haotian

Chi Haotian (; born 9 July 1929), also spelled as Chih Hao-tien, is a retired general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. He served as Minister of National Defense from 1993 to 2003.

Early life Chi was born 9 July 1929, in a poor mountain village in Zhaoyuan, Shandong, Republic of China. His family was, large with eleven siblings, four of whom died young. Yet even in such circumstances, when Chi was seven, his mother made up her mind and insisted on sending him to school. She hoped her son would acquire learning and become a teacher when he grew up. In 1941, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army carried out a large-scale pacification campaign in the Jiaodong region, committing arson, murder, rape and looting in Chi's hometown. After this experience, his mother decided to send Chi to join the army as well.

Military career Chi was recruited to the army in July 1945, and graduated from the synthesis department of Military Academy of PLA. During the Korean War, he served as the battalion instructor and deputy director of a regimental political department within the 27th Corps of the People's Volunteer Army in North Korea. For his valor during the war, he received a "Class-One" commendation.

In 1973, he became the vice political commissar of Beijing Military Region, and vice editor in chief of a prominent newspaper "People's Daily". In 1976, in the aftermath of the earthquake in Tangshan, Chi was appointed as deputy commander of the Tangshan Earthquake Relief Headquarters, overseeing the People Liberation Army's aid to the victims of the earthquake. He later became vice director of the general staff department of PLA and the director of political department under it, the political commissar of Jinan Military Region, and the head of the general staff department of PLA as well as the secretary of CCP's committee there. He was elected as a member of Central Military Commission (CMC) in 1988.

In 1993 Chi became a state councilor and the Minister of National Defense until 2003. He was also the director of the Law of National Defense Draft Commission. He was elected to be vice chairman of the central military commission of the CCP in September 1995, and CMC of the state in December that year. On 19 October 1999, after meeting with Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass in Damascus, Syria, to discuss expanding military ties between China and Syria, Chi then flew directly to Israel and met with Ehud Barak, the then prime minister and Defense Minister of Israel where they discussed military relations. Among the military arrangements, was a 1 billion dollar Israeli Russian sale of military aircraft to China, which were to be jointly produced by Russia and Israel.

He was elected as a member of CCP's 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th Central Committee's, and a Politburo member at 15th National Congress. He was awarded First-class honor in 1952, and Third-Class Liberation medal in 1985. He was made general in 1988. Chi was reportedly one of three party elders who reprimanded CMC Chairman Xi Jinping at the Beidaihe meeting in 2023.

Views on the United States In December 1999, Chi stated that war between China and the United States "is inevitable." He emphasized the necessity for China's military to dictate the terms of engagement, asserting, "The issue is that the Chinese armed forces must control the initiative in this war." His remarks suggested that conflict was not only unavoidable but also that China must adopt a proactive stance to ensure strategic superiority.

Personal life Chi was married to Jiang Qingping, who worked as a nurse at a People's Liberation Army hospital, in 1956. The couple had a son and daughter. Jiang died on 4 June 2023, at the age of 90. Chi's son Chi Xingbei is a major general in the People's Liberation Army who previously served as the political commissar of the army logistics department.