南海艦隊
In late 2004, Cen was promoted to deputy political commissar of the South Sea Fleet, and concurrently political commissar of South Sea Fleet naval aviation. In 2008, Cen was promoted to political commissar of the East Sea Fleet. He was also made a concurrent deputy political commissar of the Nanjing Military Region. While in this position, he worked alongside VADM Xu Hongmeng and VADM Du Jingchen, and East Sea Fleet Commander VADM Su Zhiqian.