Xu Hongmeng was appointed deputy Commander of the Chinese Navy Force, the People' s Daily reported Monday. He is the former deputy Commander of Nanjing Military Region and former Commander of East Sea Fleet.

As one of his first duties as deputy Commander of the Navy Force, Xu met visiting Kazak Defense Minister Adilbek Dzhaksybekov on December 22, 2009, according to the Ministry of Defense and the Liberation Army Daily.