In 2005, Zhang was promoted to political commissar of the Chengdu Military Region, replacing General Liu Shutian, who had reached retirement age. During the Great Sichuan earthquake of 2008, Zhang Haiyang, together with Chengdu MR commander Li Shiming, coordinated the military relief efforts. He was promoted to the rank of full general ("shang jiang") in July 2009, and Zhang Zhen and Zhang Haiyang became the first pair of father-and-son full generals in the PLA (Zhang Zongxun and Zhang Youxia are another pair). In late 2009, he replaced retiring General Peng Xiaofeng as the 10th political commissar of the Second Artillery Corps, China's strategic missile force. He retired in late 2014, and was succeeded by Wang Jiasheng.