Qi Fabao

Early Life and Border Service

Qi Fabao was born in March 1978 (according to the official profile published by China Military Online; some sources give 1979). He is Han Chinese and a member of the Communist Party. According to the PLA Daily, he enlisted after finishing high school in 1997, came first in his recruit battalion's military examinations and asked to be sent "to the plateau, to the front line of the struggle"; he later studied at the Urumqi Army Academy and came first in the South Xinjiang Military District's military examinations. He then served for many years with border-defence units on the Ngari plateau in Tibet and elsewhere, rising from junior officer to regimental commander.

In 2015 he received the 19th China Youth May Fourth Medal; reports at the time said that in his 18 years of service he had three times turned down postings to units with better conditions.

The Galwan Valley Clash

When the China–India clash in the Galwan Valley took place in June 2020, Qi had only recently become commander of a PLA Army border-defence regiment. According to a PLA Daily report of 19 February 2021, after foreign troops crossed the line and pitched tents, he followed the usual practice for handling border incidents and the earlier agreement between the two sides, wading across waist-deep river water with only a few soldiers to negotiate; when the other side brought up large numbers of troops, he stood with his arms outstretched in front of them, shouting, "You have broken the consensus and must bear all the consequences!", and had his soldiers take advantageous positions. The other side then attacked with steel pipes, clubs and stones; Qi became a principal target and suffered severe head injuries. Army doctor Han Ziwei recalled that when Qi was rescued his left frontal bone was fractured, with a gash more than ten centimetres long, and that while being bandaged he still tried to get up and charge forward before passing out. Battalion commander Chen Hongjun led soldiers into the encirclement to rescue him and, with soldiers Chen Xiangrong and Xiao Siyuan, was killed in the fighting.

The PLA Western Theater Army's official video account later released footage of Qi confronting Indian troops at the front line, in which he tells them: "If you don't want to fight, get out; otherwise you will bear all the consequences." In February 2021 the Central Military Commission conferred on him the honorary title "Hero Regimental Commander for Defending the Border". India's account of how the clash began and unfolded differs from China's; see the event entry.

Later Career

In 2022 Qi was elected one of the delegates of the PLA and the People's Armed Police to the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, and from 2023 he has served as a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. His subsequent post has not been publicly disclosed.