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China Ministry of National Defense
In any nation, the interrelation of the political and military
aspects of strategy and national security necessitates some degree
of military involvement in foreign policy. The military's views on
defense capability, deterrence, and perceptions of threat are
essential components of a country's global strategy. As of the late
1980s, however, little information was available on foreign policy
coordination between the military and foreign policy
establishments. The most important military organizations with
links to the foreign policy community were the Ministry of National
Defense and the party and state Central Military Commissions. The
Ministry of National Defense provides military attaches for Chinese
embassies, and, as of 1987, its Foreign Affairs Bureau dealt with
foreign attaches and military visitors. Working-level coordination
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was maintained when, for
example, high-level military leaders traveled abroad. In addition,
the Ministry of National Defense's strategic research arm, the
Beijing Institute for International Strategic Studies, carried out
research on military and security issues with foreign policy
implications.
In the late 1980s, the most important link between the military
and foreign policy establishments appeared to be at the highest
level, particularly through the party and state Central Military
Commissions and through Deng Xiaoping, who was concurrently
chairman of both commissions
(see Central Military Commission
, ch. 10;
Military Organization
, ch. 14). The views of the commissions'
members on major foreign policy issues were almost certainly
considered in informal discussions or in meetings of other highlevel organizations they also belonged to, such as the Political
Bureau, the Secretariat, or the State Council. It was significant,
though, that compared with earlier periods fewer military leaders
served on China's top policy-making bodies during the 1980s.
Data as of July 1987
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