The Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China is the second-ranked constituent department under the State Council. It is headed by the Minister of National Defense. Unlike in other countries, the Ministry of National Defense does not have operational command over the Chinese military including 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 ...

(PLA), which is instead commanded by the

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to: *Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China. *Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...

(CMC). The work of the Ministry and the Minister are primarily diplomatic in nature, generally functioning as a liaison representing the CMC and PLA when dealing with foreign militaries.

Overview

The MND was set up according to a decision adopted by the 1st Session of the

1st National People's Congress The 1st National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1954 to 1959. It held four sessions in this period. There were 1,226 deputies to the Congress. These were the first legislative elections to take place after the founding of the People ...

in 1954. In contrast to practice in other nations, the MND does not exercise command authority over the army including the

(PLA), which is instead subordinate to the

(CMC). The MND serves as a liaison representing the CMC and PLA when dealing with foreign militaries in military exchange and cooperation. It has the primary responsibility for China's defense attachés and is the institutional point of contact for foreign defense attachés assigned to China. It is additionally responsible for publishing news about military affairs.

Structure

The Ministry is headed by a Minister of National Defense; unlike in other countries, the minister does not have command authority over the army, generally exercising diplomatic functions. However, until December 2023, the office has always been held by a member of the CMC. With the removal of Li Shangfu in December, 2023, the MND has not had a seat on the CMC. While this may change, Dong Jun was not added to the CMC during the Third Plenum meeting in July 2024.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of National Defense Of The People's Republic Of China Military of the People's Republic of China

Defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

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 ...