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The Central Military Commission (CMC) is the highest national defense organization in the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. It operates within the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
(CCP) under the name "Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China", and as the military branch of the central government under the name "Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China". Under the arrangement of "one organization with two names", both commissions have identical personnel, organization and function, and operate under both the party and state systems. The commission's parallel hierarchy allows the CCP to supervise the political and military activities of the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...
(PLA), including issuing directives on senior appointments, troop deployments and arms spending. The CMC is chaired by Xi Jinping, the
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has been the paramount lead ...
and
paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
. Almost all the members are senior generals, but the most important posts have always been held by the party's most senior leaders to ensure the loyalty of the armed forces. CMC has control over 6.8 million personnel. The CMC is housed in the Ministry of National Defense compound ("August 1st or 'Eight-One' Building") in western
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
.


History

The party military committee dates back to October 1925, and while operating under various degrees of authority and responsibility, was consistently named the CCP Central Military Commission (). Among Western commentators, “Affairs” is frequently dropped from the title.The Pinnacle of the Pyramid: The Central Military Commission
, Chapter 3, p. 9
archive
/ref> As a commission, it ranks higher in the party hierarchy than departments such as the Organization or United Front Departments. In 1937 the CCP Central Revolutionary Military Commission () was created after the
Chinese Soviet Republic The Chinese Soviet Republic (CSR) was an East Asian proto-state in China, proclaimed on 7 November 1931 by Chinese communist leaders Mao Zedong and Zhu De in the early stages of the Chinese Civil War. The discontiguous territories of t ...
's Chinese Red Army were integrated into the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
's army for the anti-Japanese war, and it later evolved into the Central Military Commission after the Party's 7th Congress in 1945. In this period, the committee was always chaired by
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...
. In the September 1949 reorganization, military leadership was transferred to a government body, the People's Revolutionary Military Commission of the
Central People's Government The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...
(). The final coexistence of two military committees was set in 1954, as the CCP Central Military Commission was re-established, while state military authority rested into a National Defense Council of the People's Republic of China () chaired by the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
in keeping with the 1954 Constitution. As Mao Zedong was also the
Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party The Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party () was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The position was established at the 8th National Congress in 1945 and abolished at the 12th National Congress in 1982, bei ...
and led military affairs as a whole, the CMC and NDC's day-to-day work was carried out by its first-ranking vice-chairman, a post which was occupied by Lin Biao until his death in 1971, then by Ye Jianying. As a consequence of the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
, the Party CMC became the sole military overseeing body, and the National Defence Council was abolished in 1975.
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...
's efforts to institutionally separate the CCP and the state led to the establishment of today’s ''State CMC'', which was created in 1982 by the Constitution of China in order to formalize the role of the military within the government structure. Both the National Defense Commission and ''State CMC'' have been described as 'consultative' bodies. Contrarily to the National Defense Commission, however, the Party and state CMCs are almost identical in leadership, composition, and powers. The Commission included the post of secretary-general until 1992. This post was held by Yang Shangkun (1945–1954), Huang Kecheng (1954–1959),
Luo Ruiqing Luo Ruiqing (; May 31, 1906 – August 3, 1978), formerly romanized as Lo Jui-ch'ing, was a Chinese army officer and politician, general of the People's Liberation Army. He created the People's Republic of China's security and police appar ...
(1959–1966), Ye Jianying (1966–1977), Luo Ruiqing (1977–1979), Geng Biao (1979–1981), Yang Shangkun (1981–1989), Yang Baibing (1989–1992). In 2016, the 4 traditional general departments were dissolved by order of Chairman Xi Jinping, and in their place 15 new departments were created as part of the ongoing modernization of the PLA.


Command structure

Unlike in most countries, the Central Military Commission is not organizational equivalent of other government ministries. Although China does have a Ministry of National Defense, headed by a Minister of National Defense, it exists solely for liaison with foreign militaries and does not have command authority. The most important chain of command runs from the CMC to the 15 general departments (Joint Staff Department, Political Work Department, Logistic Support Department, Equipments Development Department) and, in turn, to each of the service branches (
ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...
,
navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
and air forces). In addition, the CMC also has direct control over the Rocket Forces, Strategic Support Forces, the National Defense University, and the Academy of Military Sciences. As stipulated in the 1997 National Defense Law, the CMC also controls the paramilitary People’s Armed Police (PAP), who have the politically sensitive role of guarding key government buildings (including the main leadership compound of Zhongnanhai in Beijing), armed offender response, emergency response and disaster relief work around
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. China Coast Guard (CCG) and the
Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
force are also under the control of the CMC. The CMC shared command authority over the PAP with the State Council mostly via the Ministry of Public Security; from 2018 the PAP is under the sole control of the CMC. Although in theory the CMC has the highest military command authority, in reality the ultimate decision-making power concerning war, armed forces, and national defense resides with the Politburo of the CCP. The CMC is usually chaired by the General Secretary of the CCP, who is supported by two to three vice-chairmen, sometimes, but not currently, including the Defense Minister. Members of the CMC used to include the heads of the PLA’s four general departments and the Commanders of the Ground Force, Air Force, Navy and Rocket Force; but after the recent reform only Minister of National Defense, Chief of Joint Staff, Director of Political Work, and Secretary of Discipline Inspection are included.


Political structure

The armed forces of China also have Joint Staff Department, the Political Work Department, the Logistics Support Department and the Equipment Development Department, which implements the directives of the Central Military Commission. Along with the General Secretary of the Communist Party and Premier of the State Council, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission have consistently been one of the most powerful political leaders in China. The Chairman of the CMC was twice in its history held by a senior official who had given up his other posts: by Deng in the late 1980s, and by Jiang in the early 2000s. In the case of Deng Xiaoping, because of his prestige, he was able to exercise considerable power after his retirement, in part due to his holding the position of CMC Chairman. There was speculation that
Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as p ...
would have been able to retain similar authority after his retirement from the positions of General Secretary and President, but ultimately Jiang was unable to do so. One major factor is that, in contrast to Deng Xiaoping, who always had close relations with the People's Liberation Army, Jiang had no military background. In addition, with the promotion of the fourth generation of Chinese leaders to lead the civilian party, there was also a corresponding promotion of military leaders. All the military members of the CMC come from Hu Jintao's generation rather than from Jiang's, and at the time of the leadership transition, there appeared some very sharp editorials from military officers suggesting that the military would have strong objections to Jiang attempting to exercise power behind the scenes. Jiang Zemin relinquished his post as chairman of the party's Central Military Commission in September 2004 to Hu Jintao, and from the state commission in March 2005, which appeared to solidify Hu's position as paramount leader. However, Jiang had appointed two generals who maintained good relations with him, Xu Caihou, and Guo Boxiong, to the vice-chairman positions, and continued to wield influence through them at the expense of Hu. Unlike Deng and Jiang, Hu relinquished his CMC post along with his remaining leadership offices in favour of his successor Xi Jinping. In China's state-party-military tripartite political system, the CMC itself is a decision-making body whose day-to-day affairs are not nearly as transparent as that of the Central Committee or the State Council. As one of China's three main decision-making bodies the relative influence of the CMC can vary depending on the time period and the leaders. In the event of war or political crisis, for example, the CMC may well function as a ''de facto'' executive for the country's daily affairs. The
Tiananmen Protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
illustrates how the Central Military Commission functions. CMC Chairman Deng Xiaoping proposed the imposition martial law and the use of armed soldiers to suppress unarmed demonstrations in Beijing. The
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
says of the two CMCs: "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. 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."


Election of members

Theoretically, the CCP (Party) CMC is elected by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and is subordinate to the CCP Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC). In practice, membership is very closely controlled by the PBSC. Similarly, the ''State CMC'' is nominally elected by the National People's Congress and theoretically reports to the Congress, but is in practice indistinguishable from the CCP CMC. This difference in elections also results in the only difference in membership between the two bodies, as party organs, such as the party congress and the Central Committee assemble at different times than the National People's Congress. For example, some were elected into the party CMC in the Sixteenth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in November 2002, but they entered the ''State CMC'' in March 2003, when the 10th National People's Congress convened. The members are generally uniformed military commanders, except for the chairman and first vice-chairman, who have both been drawn from the Politburo in recent years. The military members are generally members of neither the Politburo Standing Committee nor the State Council outside of the Minister of National Defense, although they all tend to be members of the Communist Party and are members of the Central Committee. The military members are apparently chosen with regular promotion procedures from within the PLA.


Members

The make-up of the current Central Military Commission of the Communist Party was determined at the 20th Party Congress held in October 2022; the state commission awaits confirmation at the 2023 National People's Congress. ; Party CMC Chairman: : Xi Jinping, also
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has been the paramount lead ...
, President of the People's Republic of China ; Party CMC Vice Chairmen (2): #
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Zhang Youxia, member of the 19th Politburo and the 20th Politburo #
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
He Weidong, member of the 20th Politburo ; Party CMC Members (4): #
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Li Shangfu #
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Liu Zhenli # Admiral Miao Hua #
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Zhang Shengmin ; State CMC Chairman: : Xi Jinping, also
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has been the paramount lead ...
, President of the People's Republic of China ; State CMC Vice Chairmen (2): # Air Force General Xu Qiliang, Member of the 19th Politburo, Executive Deputy Leader of the CMC Leading Group for National Defence and Military Reform #
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Zhang Youxia, Member of the 19th Politburo, Deputy Leader of the CMC Leading Group for National Defence and Military Reform ; State CMC Members (4): #
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Wei Fenghe Wei Fenghe (; born February 1954) is a general (''shang jiang'') in the People's Liberation Army who served as commander of the PLA Rocket Force, formerly known as the Second Artillery Corps. He is Minister of National Defence, the first to hav ...
, State Councilor and Minister of National Defense #
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Li Zuocheng, Chief of Joint Staff # Admiral Miao Hua, Director of the CMC Political Work Department #
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Zhang Shengmin, Secretary of the CMC Commission for Discipline Inspection, also a Deputy Secretary of the CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection


Organization

The exact internal organisation of the CMC is highly secretive. However, until 2015 it is known that the CMC contained least five key departments. The Joint Staff Department is the nerve center of the entire Chinese military command and control system, responsible for daily administrative duties of the CMC. The General Office processes all CMC communications and documents, coordinate meetings, and convey orders and directives to other subordinate organs. During the 2015 military reform, by order of Chairman Xi Jinping, 15 departments were created to replace the 5 organs, which were disbanded. The new 15 departments are: #
General Office A General Office (also known as "administrative office") is an important administrative political organ in the communist party organizations and communist countries (such as China, Laos and Vietnam for instance). Generally speaking, the General Offi ...
() # Joint Staff Department () # Political Work Department () # Logistic Support Department () # Equipment Development Department () # Training and Administration Department () # National Defense Mobilization Department () # Discipline Inspection Commission () # Politics and Legal Affairs Commission () # Science and Technology Commission () # Office for Strategic Planning () # Office for Reform and Organizational Structure () # Office for International Military Cooperation () # Audit Office () # Agency for Offices Administration ()


See also

*
Leader of the Chinese Communist Party The leader of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the highest-ranking official and head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Since 1982, the leader of the CCP is equivalent to the office of the General Secretary of the Ce ...
*
Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China The Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China (), or the "National Defense Ministry" () for short, is the second-ranked cabinet level executive department under the State Council. It is headed by the Minister of Nation ...
*
Central Security Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Guard Bureau of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party (), also nominally affiliated with the army and the police as the Guard Bureau of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission () and the Ninth Burea ...
* 2015 People's Republic of China military reform


References


Citations


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Central Military Commission (People's Republic Of China) Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Defence agencies of China Government agencies of China Military of the People's Republic of China
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...