Zhou Peng

Colonel (then later General) Zhou Peng (Chinese: 周彭, Zhōu péng) is the leader of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the Mercenary's Chinese contact for both Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
"Peng is utterly cold and professional. He is a stolid party member; he also recognises the weakness of his own government. He views mercs as he does any foreign agent - useful if controlled, but not to be trusted."

- Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction game manual

Peng, a Colonel in 2009, is the leader of the PLA during the "Song Initiative" after he is discovered to have nuclear weapons and the capability to deliver them anywhere in the world. While on the surface wishing to end the Nuclear threat, China--and by extension Peng--wish to see North Korea turned into a province for the People's Republic. Though the head of a massive and powerful army, Col. Peng also realizes that it lacks the finesse required for more delicate, covert operations. Most of Col. Peng's missions typically see the Mercenary as a spearhead for his forces, ad-hoc re-enforcements or rescuing important members of his staff from harm. China's ambitions put him at odds with the South Koreans and CIA Special Agent Mitchell Buford in particular. Depending on the player's actions, China may or may not be successful in expanding it's reach into North Korea.

Col. Peng of Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction has a cool, collected personality. Even when angered, he never raises his voice and rarely displays emotion, often very to-the-point. This is in contrast with his counterpart, Buford. Despite the lack of emotion in his voice, Peng is a mostly honest individual, to the point of being brutal. He will regularly and openly state his dissatisfaction with the mercenary's choice of career and admitting the limitations of the army he commands. Though he is not above sarcasm, mockingly referring to the mercenary as "the two hallmarks of Western Ideology, Violence for Profit." Despite these misgivings, he realizes that the mercenary is a necessity. He also places a high value in his own interpretation of honor, seeing Buford as a "worthy opponent" and a personal nemesis at the same time, while also disregarding the Russian Mafia as scavengers worthy only to be crushed.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Peng, now a General in 2010, is in command of the PLA's expeditionary force in Venezuela. Creating his headquarters from an old fort, Peng seeks to control the oil supply to fuel his nation as a rising superpower. Unlike the AN, who are covert in their desire for oil, Peng and his army are more openly seeking Venezuela's oil reserves. After both China and the AN invade Venezuela after it has become evident that their respective proxies can not keep the oil flow secure, the mercenary approaches Peng looking for a Nuclear Bunker Buster to defeat a hardened bunker used by Ramon Solano. Peng offers it if the Mercenary can push the Allies out of Venezuela. After several successful missions, including rescuing a party official, nearly single-handedly taking over Caracas and capturing or killing the Allied commander, CIA Agent Joyce, Peng gives the Mercenary the Nuclear Bunker Buster after the Chinese HQ is attacked with a nuclear bomb, after which Peng is (temporarily) forced to withdraw.

General Peng has a slightly altered personality than from one year prior. He is now not above shouting at the Mercenary to get his point across. He also seems to be more openly expressive about his zeal in combating the AN in direct combat. He also now views the mercenary in a more popular light, no longer concerned about how much damage they may cause. Despite this, he still keeps his honesty and his sense of honor. While Agent Joyce tried to double-cross the mercenary after promising the Nuclear Bunker Buster, Peng offered it with "his blessing" towards the mercenary's mission in seeking revenge on Ramon Solano.

Trivia

 * Peng is familiar with martial arts, specifically Win Chun, as evidenced by a training dummy he has in his office during Mercenaries 1 which he says his wife sent to him hoping he would continue to train.
 * Peng is also married, as he indicates in Mercenaries 1.
 * In Mercenaries 1, Peng had only a slight accent. However, in Mercenaries 2, his accent is more profound, frequently interchanging his "R"'s and his "L"s, this is because Colonel and General Peng are portrayed by different voice actors.
 * In Mercenaries 1, when Peng speaks in Chinese to his aid Captain Leu, it must be noted that he does so in Cantonese. It therefore can be assumed that Peng is from the south of China, specifically Guangdong province. Captain Leu responds to Peng in Mandarin (the national language of China). Cantonese being a distinct dialect of Chinese and not mutually intelligible with Mandarin. This may lead one to assume that as Leu understands Peng, then he may also be a native of Guangdong province, but all of this is more likely just an oversight by the developers.
 * It is very likely that China eventually won in North Korea, and defeated the South Koreans, as Peng states he was promoted after the fighting in North Korea. It would be unlikely that he would be promoted if China lost.
 * Peng is the only character, aside from the three mercenaries and Fiona to return in the sequel.
 * In Mercenaries 1 the player can input the cheat code into the PDA factions screen to play as a Peng skin: Left, left, right, right, up, down, down, left.
 * In Mercenaries 2, his background music during his mission briefings consists of an old APM tune used for portraying fascism in film noir, played in a loop, giving his character a more dictatorial feel.