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China Military Organization
By 1987 changes in military organization indicated the
importance Chinese leaders attached to structural reform in
building military forces capable of waging modern, combined-arms
warfare. These reforms included the creation of the state Central
Military Commission parallel to the party Central Military
Commission, reduction in force, reorganization of military regions,
formation of group armies, enactment of the new Military Service
Law, and reorganization of defense industries.
State and Party Central Military Commissions
At the apex of Chinese military organization stood two bodies--
the state and party Central Military Commissions
(see
fig. 23). The
1982 state Constitution created the state Central Military
Commission as the state organ subordinate to the National People's
Congress responsible for "directing the country's armed forces"
(see Central Military Commission
, ch. 10). The state Central
Military Commission was the state's decision-making body in
military affairs and directed and commanded the armed forces. The
state Central Military Commission consisted of the chairman, who
was commander in chief of the armed forces, an executive vice
chairman, two vice chairmen, and four other members.
The party Central Military Commission, elected by the party
Central Committee, exercised de facto, authoritative policy-making
and operational control over the military. In addition to the
chairman, the party Central Military Commission in 1987 included a
permanent vice chairman who was concurrently secretary general, two
vice chairmen, and four deputy secretaries general. The leadership
of the state and party Central Military Commissions was identical,
but the membership of the party Central Military Commission below
the top leadership was thought to include regional commanders and
service chiefs. Because the PLA has been under party control since
its inception, the leadership of the party over the military did
not change with the establishment of the state Central Military
Commission. Although parallel leadership blurred the distinction
between the two groups, the party Central Military Commission
retained its traditional, preeminent position in charge of military
affairs.
Data as of July 1987
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