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 The CMC is housed in the same building as theMinistry of National Defense, the "August 1st Building" | |
| Agency overview | |
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| Formed |
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| Preceding agency |
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| Type | National level agency |
| Jurisdiction | China |
| Headquarters | August 1st Building,Beijing |
| Agency executives | |
| Parent agency | |
| Child agencies | |
| Website | www.81.cn chinamil.com.cn (in English) |
| Central Military Commission | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 中央军事委员会 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中央軍事委員會 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中国共产党和中华人民共和国中央军事委员会 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中國共產黨和中華人民共和國中央軍事委員會 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中国共产党中央军事委员会 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中國共產黨中央軍事委員會 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中华人民共和国中央军事委员会 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中華人民共和國中央軍事委員會 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| People's Liberation Army |
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| Executive departments |
| Staff |
| Services |
| Arms |
| Domestic troops |
| Special operations forces |
| Military districts |
| History of the Chinese military |
| Military ranks of China |
TheCentral Military Commission (CMC) is the supreme military leadership body of theChinese Communist Party (CCP) and thePeople's Republic of China (PRC), which heads thePeople's Liberation Army (PLA), thePeople's Armed Police (PAP), and theMilitia of China.
There are technically two separate commissions; the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China. Under the arrangement of "one institution 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 PLA, including issuing directives on senior appointments, troop deployments and arms spending.
The CMC is chaired byXi Jinping, theGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party andparamount leader. Almost all the members are senior generals or admirals, but the chairmanship has always been held by the party's most senior leaders (whoare civilians under the principle thatthe Party commands the Gun) to ensure the loyalty of the armed forces. The CMC is housed in theMinistry of National Defense compound ("August 1st or 'Eight-One' Building") in westernBeijing.
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.[a] Among Western commentators, "Affairs" is frequently dropped from the title.[1] 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[b] was created after theChinese Soviet Republic'sChinese Red Army were integrated into theKuomintang's army for the anti-Japanese war, and it later evolved into the Central Military Commission after the7th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1945. In this period, the committee was always chaired byMao Zedong.[citation needed]
In the September 1949 reorganization, military leadership was transferred to a government body, the People's Revolutionary Military Commission of theCentral People's Government.[c] 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 aNational Defense Council chaired by theChairman of China in keeping with the 1954 Constitution.[citation needed]
As Mao Zedong was also theChairman of the Chinese Communist Party 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 byLin Biao until his death in 1971, then byYe Jianying. As a consequence of theCultural Revolution, the Party CMC became the sole military overseeing body, and the National Defence Council was abolished in 1975.[citation needed]
Deng Xiaoping's efforts to institutionally separate the CCP and the state led to the establishment of today'sState CMC, which was created in 1982 by theconstitution of the People's Republic of China in order to formalize the role of the military within the government structure. Both the National Defense Commission andState CMC have been described as 'consultative' bodies.[1] Contrarily to the National Defense Council, however, the party and state CMCs are almost identical in leadership, composition, and powers.[1]
After theUnited States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during theNATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Jiang Zemin instructed the CMC to strengthen the PLA.[2]: 253 The CMC began a broad effort to reform its doctrine, operations, and equipment in anticipation of what Chinese leadership expected would be an increasingly hostile United States.[2]: 253
The Commission included the post of secretary-general until 1992.[citation needed] This post was held byYang Shangkun (1945–1954),Huang Kecheng (1954–1959),Luo Ruiqing (1959–1966), Ye Jianying (1966–1977), Luo Ruiqing (1977–1979),Geng Biao (1979–1981), Yang Shangkun (1981–1989),Yang Baibing (1989–1992).[citation needed]
In 2016, the four 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.[3]
According to the Law of the People's Republic of China on National Defense, the CMC exercises leadership over border, maritime, air and other critical security defense.[4][non-primary source needed] The CMC has the ultimate command authority over the armed forces of the People's Republic of China, including the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the People's Armed Police (PAP), and the Militia.[5]
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 theState 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. Unlike in most countries, the Central Military Commission is not an organizational equivalent of other government ministries. Although China does have aMinistry of National Defense, it exists solely for liaison with foreign militaries and does not have command authority.[5]
There are two separate commissions; the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China. However, under the arrangement of "one institution with two names", both commissions have identical personnel, organization and function.[6][7][d] The commission's parallel hierarchy allows the CCP to supervise the political and military activities of the PLA,[9] including issuing directives on senior appointments, troop deployments and arms spending.[10] The CMC is extremely opaque, and its meetings are almost never publicized.[11]
The CMC is composed of a chairman, vice chairpersons, and other members.[5] The CMC chairman is usually concurrently theCCP general secretary.[12] The most importantchain of command runs from the CMC to the 15 general departments and, in turn, to each of the service branches (ground,navy andair forces). In addition, the CMC also has direct control over theRocket Forces, the three arms of service that were previously part of the formerStrategic Support Forces (Aerospace Force,Information Support Force andCyberspace Force), theNational Defense University, and theAcademy of Military Sciences.[citation needed]
Prior to 2016, the PLA was governed by four general departments. These were abolished after themilitary reforms in 2016 by order of Chairman Xi Jinping, replaced with 15 departments that report directly to the CMC.[3] The new 15 departments are:[13]
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.[15]
TheCentral Military Commission Joint Operations Command Center was separated from the Joint Staff in the 2015 reforms and made directly commanded by the CMC. As well as serving as the command center for overall PLA joint operations, it supervises theJoint Operation Command Organs of each of the five command theaters.[citation needed]
According to military regulations, the chairman of the CMC shall be conferred with no military rank, while vice chairmen and members of the CMC are conferred the rank of general or admiral by the virtue of their office.[16][non-primary source needed] The make-up of the current Central Military Commission of the CCP was determined at the20th Party Congress held in October 2022; the state commission was confirmed at the1st Session of the14th National People's Congress.[17][18]
Xi Jinping, alsoGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party,President of China
GeneralZhang Youxia, member of the19th Politburo and the20th Politburo
GeneralZhang Shengmin, also Secretary of theDiscipline Inspection CommissionGeneralLiu Zhenli, Chief of Staff of theJoint Staff DepartmentAs of October 2025[update], China's Ministry of National Defense lists its high command as:[19]
| Institution | Leaders |
|---|---|
| Membership of the Central Military Commission | |
| Chairman | Xi Jinping (习近平) |
| Vice Chairmen | Zhang Youxia (张又侠) Zhang Shengmin (张升民) |
| Members | Liu Zhenli (刘振立) |
| CMC Functional Departments | |
| General Office | Director: PLAGF Lt GenFang Yongxiang: (方永祥) |
| Joint Staff Department | Chief of Staff: PLAGF GenLiu Zhenli (刘振立) |
| Political Work Department | Director: Vacant |
| Logistic Support Department | Dept Head: Vacant Political Commissioner: Vacant |
| Equipment Development Department | Dept Head: PLAGF GenXu Xueqiang (许学强) Political Commissioner: Vacant |
| Training Administration Department | Director: PLAGF Lt GenWang Peng (王鹏) Political Commissioner: Vacant |
| National Defense Mobilization Department | Director: PLAGF Lt GenLiu Faqing (刘发庆) Political Commissioner: PLAGF Lt GenWang Donghai (王东海) |
| Discipline Inspection Commission | Secretary: PLARF GenZhang Shengmin (张升民) |
| Politics and Legal Affairs Commission | Secretary: PLAN AdmWang Renhua (王仁华) |
| Science and Technology Commission | Director: PLAN Vice AdmZhao Xiaozhe (赵晓哲) |
| Office for Strategic Planning | Director: PLAGF Maj GenShen Fangwu (沈方吾) |
| Office for Reform and Organizational Structure | Director: PLAGF Maj GenLi Pengyi (李鹏翼) |
| Office for International Military Cooperation | Director: PLAAF Maj GenLi Bin (李斌) |
| Audit Office | Chief Auditor: PLAGF Maj GenSun Bin (孙斌) |
| Agency for Offices Administration | Dept Head: PLAAF Maj GenLiu Changchun (刘长春) Political Commissioner: PLAAF Maj GenHan Guoqi (韩国启) |
| Joint Operations Command Center | |
| JOCC | Commander-in-Chief:Xi Jinping (习近平) |
| Theater Commands | |
| Eastern Theater Command | Commander:Vacant Political Commissioner: PLAN AdmLiu Qingsong (刘青松) |
| Southern Theater Command | Commander: PLAGF GenWu Yanan (吴亚男) Political Commissioner: PLAGF GenWang Wenquan (王文全) |
| Western Theater Command | Commander: PLAGF GenWang Haijiang (汪海江) Political Commissioner: PLAGF GenLi Fengbiao (李凤彪) |
| Northern Theater Command | Commander: PLAGF GenHuang Ming (黄铭) Political Commissioner: PLAGF GenZheng Xuan (郑璇) |
| Central Theater Command | Commander: Vacant Political Commissioner: PLAGF GenXu Deqing (徐德清) |
| PLA Branches | |
| PLA Ground Force | Commander: PLAGF GenLi Qiaoming (李桥铭) Political Commissioner: PLAGF GenChen Hui (陈辉) |
| PLA Navy | Commander: PLANAdmHu Zhongming (胡中明) Political Commissioner: Vacant |
| PLA Air Force | Commander: PLAAF GenChang Dingqiu (常丁求) Political Commissioner: PLAAF GenGuo Puxiao (郭普校) |
| PLA Rocket Force | Commander: Vacant Political Commissioner: PLARF GenXu Xisheng (徐西盛) |
| PLA Arms | |
| Aerospace Force | Commander: PLAGF Lt GenHao Weizhong (郝卫中) Political Commissioner: Vacant |
| Cyberspace Force | Commander: PLAGF Lt GenZhang Minghua (张明华) Political Commissioner: PLAAF Lt GenHan Xiaodong (韩晓东) |
| Information Support Force | Commander: PLAGF Lt GenBi Yi (毕毅) Political Commissioner: PLAGF GenLi Wei (李伟) |
| Joint Logistics Support Force | Commander: PLAAF Lt GenWang Kangping (王抗平) Political Commissioner: Vacant |
| CMC Directly Subordinated Academic Institutions | |
| Academy of Military Sciences | Dean: PLAGF GenYang Xuejun (杨学军) Political Commissioner: PLAGF GenLing Huanxin (凌焕新) |
| National Defense University | Principal: PLAGF GenXiao Tianliang (肖天亮) Political Commissioner: PLAGF Lt GenZhong Shaojun (钟绍军) |
| National University of Defense Technology | Principal: PLAGF Maj GenLi Xiang (黎湘) Political Commissioner: PLAAF Lt GenChen Guoqiang (陈国强) |
| Headquarters of the People's Armed Police Force | |
| People's Armed Police | Acting Commander: PAP Lt GenCao Junzhang (曹均章) Political Commissioner: PAP GenZhang Hongbing (张红兵) |
According to theCCP constitution, the members of the Party CMC are elected by the CCP'sCentral Committee.[20] In practice, membership is very closely controlled by the CCP'sPolitburo Standing Committee. Similarly, the State CMC is constitutionally elected by theNational People's Congress (NPC) and theoretically reports to the NPC and itsStanding Committee,[21] but is in practice indistinguishable from the Party CMC.[11] This difference in elections results in the only difference in membership between the two bodies, as party organs, such as theParty 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 the16th Party Congress in November 2002, but they entered theState CMC in March 2003, when the1st Session of the10th NPC convened.
...the state's Central Military Commission, a notional body that replicates another one with real power controlled by the party.
Saunders, Phillip C.; Ding, Arthur S.; Scobell, Andrew; Yang, Andrew N.D.; Joel, Wuthnow, eds. (2019).Chairman Xi Remakes the PLA: Assessing Chinese Military Reforms. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press.ISBN 978-1070233420.
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