He was awarded the Medal of Honour by CCP general secretary Xi Jinping and the Order of the National Flag by North Korea.

In February 1945, he enlisted in the Eighth Route Army and served under General Xu Shiyou, the commander of the Jiaodong Military Area.

[2] After the Empire of Japan announced its surrender on 15 August 1945, the Communist forces in Shandong attacked Jimo, which was held by Japan and the puppet Wang Jingwei regime, to gain an advantage over the Kuomintang forces.

[2] Wei headed the training department of the Nanjing MR, before being appointed the secretary of Xu Shiyou, the commander of the military region.

[2] After decades of service in the army, Wei transferred to the PLA Navy in July 1985[2] to serve as the sole Deputy Political Commissar under Li Yaowen.

In April 1990, he succeeded Li as Political Commissar of the Navy,[3] serving alongside Commander Zhang Lianzhong.