 On 20 May 1893, he became commander-in-chief of the Readiness Fleet.With the start of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894, he became the first Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet and won several naval battles against the Chinese Empire's Beiyang Fleet led by Admiral Ding Ruchang, notably at the Battle of the Yellow Sea.On 11 May 1895, Itō became Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff.