Following the most recent round of military reforms launched in 2016, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), from the highest to the lowest echelons, has been moving in the direction dictated by President Xi Jinping. The major concern of the PLA, however, is the membership of the Central Military Commission (CMC). The list of candidates for the CMC of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was not decided until the first plenary session of the Central Committee of the CPC after the 19th National Congress. The CMC retains its one chairman and two vice chairmen leadership structure, but only the chiefs of the Joint Staff Department and Political Work Department, the Minister of National Defense and the head of the Commission for Discipline Inspection are granted a seat in the CMC. As compared with the 18th CMC, the 19th CMC has fewer members. The decrease in the number of CMC members represents a change in the command structure of the PLA. From a hierarchical perspective, each level of command has its political and professional significance, also tasked with different missions. All levels work together to manage the PLA, the world’s largest military force. From the change in the composition of the CMC, the selection of candidates for CMC membership, the qualifications of the candidates in terms of grade and rank, and their functions, this study seeks to find out the impact of the 19th CMC members and newly-appointed theater commands’ and the services’ commanding generals and admirals on the PLA reforms as well as the implications thereof.
Relation:
The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis 31(4), p.501-517
