South Central China
After the establishment of People's Republic of China in 1949, Rao held the position of Chairman of Military and Political Committee of East China besides General Secretary of East China Bureau of CPC. And in the same year, Rao, Gao Gang, Lin Biao, Peng Dehuai, Liu Bocheng were appointed respectively as the Chairman of East China, Northeast China, South Central China, Northwestern China and Southwestern China.