Navy Lieutenant General Zheng Baohua, deputy commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, died of illness on December 10, at age 59.

Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, State president, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other senior military and Party officials Guo Boxiong, Cao Gangchuan, Xu Caihou and Bo Xilai have mourned over Zheng's death and comforted his family.

Zheng, a native of Fengtang County, Hebei Province, joined the army in 1969. Since then he had held a series of military positions in land troops and in the navy. These included captain and head of the destroyer division of the South China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy, deputy chief of staff of the South China Sea Fleet, and chief of staff of the navy's Fujian base.

In 1997, he became a rear admiral. In 2000, he was appointed head of the Dalian Warship Academy of the PLA Navy. In 2005, he was promoted to deputy commander of the PLA Navy. Last year, he became a Navy lieutenant general.

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(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2007)