The Central Theater Command is one of the five theater commands of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and was founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessors were the

Beijing Military Region The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid-1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, ...

and Jinan Military Region. The

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

attributes to the command of 300,000 personnel, consisting of three group armies 81st Group Army,

82nd Group Army The 82nd Group Army (), Unit 31677, formerly the 38th Group Army, is a military formation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF). The 82nd Group Army is one of thirteen total group armies of the PLAGF, the largest echelon of ...

, 83rd Group Army (Formerly 27th Group Army, 38th Army, and the 65th Army), two armoured divisions, one mechanised infantry division, five motorised divisions, one artillery division, three armoured, seven motorised infantry, four artillery, a total of five various anti-aircraft brigades, and one anti-tank regiment. The command is also augmented by the PLA Beijing Garrison, which consists of the 1st Guard and the 3rd Guard Divisions, and the Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion and Color Guard Company, both of them are charged with

public duties Public duties are performed by military personnel, and usually have a ceremonial or historic significance rather than an overtly operational role. Armenia Since September 2018, the Honour Guard Battalion (Armenia), Honour Guard Battalion of the Mi ...

, and is also home to the PLA Navy (PLAN)

North Sea Fleet The North Sea Fleet (NSF; ), concurrently the Northern Theater Command Navy (), is one of the three fleets of China's People's Liberation Army Navy. Headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong, the fleet provides naval forces to the Northern Theater Comma ...

and the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) 10th Air Force Corps. In addition to guarding the capital, the CTC is the main military theater command in charge of training key personnel for leadership positions through the numerous military academies in the region. According to some sources, including the Jamestown Foundation, Air Force Wang Qiang () is the current Commander of the Central Theater Command, replacing Huang Ming () and the Theater's Political Commissar is General Xu Deqing ().

Area of responsibility

The Central Theater Command's area of responsibility (AOR) consists of the previous

, including the capital

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and the neighboring provinces and directly governed municipalities of

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

and

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

. The command's primary responsibility is the defense of the nation's capital,

, and it serves as the national strategic military reserve.

Organizational Structure

PLA Ground Forces

Regiments/Units

=81st Group Army

= * 7th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade * 70th Light Combined Arms Brigade, located in Tangshan Prefecture,

Hebei Province Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

* 162nd Motorized Infantry Division, located in Anyang Prefecture,

Henan Province Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luo ...

* 189th Medium Combined Arms Brigade * 194th Combined Arms Brigade * 195th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade, located in Yutian County,

82nd Group Army

* 6th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade, located in Nankou Town Area,

Changping District Changping District (), formerly Changping County (), is a district situated in the suburbs of north and northwest Beijing. Changping has a population of 2,269,487 as of November 2020, making it the most populous suburban district of Beijing. Hist ...

* 80th Medium Combined Arms Brigade * 127th Light Mechanized Infantry Division (a.k.a. the Red Army Division), located in Luoyang Prefecture,

* 151st Heavy Combined Arms Brigade * 188th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade * 196th Light Combined Arms Brigade

83rd Group Army

* 11th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade * 58th Medium Combined Arms Brigade, located in Xuchang Prefecture,

* 60th Medium Combined Arms Brigade, located in Minggang Town Area, Xinyang Prefecture,

* 113th Combined Arms Brigade, located in Baoding Prefecture,

* 131st Combined Arms Brigade * 193rd Medium Combined Arms Brigade, located in Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou Prefecture,

PLA Beijing Garrison

* 1st Guard Division, located in

Haidian, Beijing Haidian () is a northwest urban district of Beijing, bordering Xicheng, Beijing, Xicheng and Fengtai, Beijing, Fengtai. It is in area, making it the second-largest district in urban Beijing area (after Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang), and is home ...

**3rd Guards Regiment (Heavy Infantry) **4th Guards Regiment (Light Quick reaction force) **5th Guards Regiment (Light Quick reaction force) **

Central Guard Regiment The Central Guard Unit (CGU; PLA Unit 61889), formerly known as the Central Guard Regiment (CGR; PLA Unit 8341) is a unit of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) of the People's Republic of ChinaPollpeter and Allen (ed.): p. 28 ...

** Honor Guard Battalion * 3rd Guard Division, located in Tongzhou, Beijing **11th Guards Regiment (showcase unit) **13th Guards Regiment (special security unit) **Armored Regiment **Artillery Regiment **Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment **Support Battalion *17th Guard Regiment *Reserve Unit *Reserve Officer Training Corps *Reserve Artillery Division, located in Huairou, Beijing *Reserve Chemical Defense Regiment, located in Xicheng, Beijing

PLA Air Forces

List of leaders

Commanders

Political commissars

References

{{coord missing, China Theater commands of the People's Liberation Army Military units and formations established in 2016 2016 establishments in China Military of Beijing Military of Tianjin Theater Command grade units of the Armed Forces of China