Xu Fangchun, a former senior general of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), died of illness in Guangzhou on July 5 at the age of 85.

Xu, once the vice-president of Chinese PLA Military Academy of Sciences, took part in the anti-Japanese war in 1938 and devoted his whole life to the PLA. He was granted the rank of lieutenant general in 1988.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders sent their condolence to Xu's relatives after his death.

Source: Xinhua