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InChina, supreme command of the armed forces is exercised by theCentral Military Commission (CMC) of theChinese Communist Party (CCP). A parallel state CMC (PRC CMC) exists. Legally the two CMCs have separate responsibilities, but the distinction is practically irrelevant because the bodies typically have the same members.^[1] Since 1989, theCCP General Secretary chairs the CMC, and represents the armed forces in theCCP Politburo Standing Committee, the country's ruling body.^[2]

When the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded in 1949, command of thePeople's Liberation Army (PLA) was transferred to the People's Revolutionary Military Council, a state body, with the CCP leading the coalition government. The CCP CMC was abolished. The1954 PRC constitution designated thepresident as thesupreme commander, and also as the chair of theNational Defense Commission (NDC). At the same time, the CCP CMC was reestablished and became the primary policy-making body for the armed forces. The separation of command and policy-making between the state and the party was bridged by the shared memberships of the state and party bodies; for example,Mao Zedong was president and CMC chairman from 1954 to 1959. In the late-1970s and the end of theCultural Revolution, theChinese president wasabolished and revisions to the PRC and CCP constitutions made theCCP chairman the supreme commander.^[3]

Deng Xiaoping'spolitical reforms again divided responsibilities for the armed forces between the party and the state. The1982 PRC constitution created the PRC CMC to formally exercise supreme command, with theNational People's Congress selecting the chairman, and handle all matters except political work. The CCP CMC — as defined in the 1982 CCP constitution — was responsible for political work. Again, conflicts between the CMCs were eliminated by shared membership.^[4]

The relationship between the CMCs and various state and party bodies can make the exercise of supreme command legally ambiguous. The ambiguity may have caused the CCP's regular demands for loyalty from the armed forces since the1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.^[5]

• Military of China
• Politics of China
• Commanders in chief

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