Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China
Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China
中国共产党中央军事委员会
中华人民共和国中央军事委员会
Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Jūnshì Wěiyuánhuì
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Zhōngyāng Jūnshì Wěiyuánhuì
Emblem of the Chinese Communist Party
National Emblem of the People's Republic of China

The CMC is housed in the same building as the Ministry of National Defense, the "August 1st Building"
Agency overview
Formed
  • 28 September 1954 (1954-09-28) (party)
  • 18 June 1983 (1983-06-18) (state)
Preceding agency
JurisdictionChina
HeadquartersAugust 1st Building, Beijing
Agency executives
Parent agency
Child agencies
Websitewww.81.cn
chinamil.com.cn (in English)
Central Military Commission
Simplified Chinese中央军事委员会
Traditional Chinese中央軍事委員會
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
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

The Central Military Commission (CMC) is the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China, which heads the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the People's Armed Police (PAP), and the Militia of China.

It operates within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under the name "Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China", and as the military branch of the state under the name "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.[1][2] The commission's parallel hierarchy allows the CCP to supervise the political and military activities of the PLA,[3] including issuing directives on senior appointments, troop deployments and arms spending.[4]

The CMC is chaired by Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and paramount leader. 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.[4] The CMC is housed in the Ministry of National Defense compound ("August 1st or 'Eight-One' Building") in western Beijing.

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 (Chinese: 中共中央軍事委員會; pinyin: Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Jūnshì Wěiyuánhuì). Among Western commentators, “Affairs” is frequently dropped from the title.[5] 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 (Chinese: 中共中央革命軍事委員會; pinyin: Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Gémìng Jūnshì Wěiyuánhuì) was created after the Chinese Soviet Republic's Chinese Red Army were integrated into the Kuomintang's army for the anti-Japanese war, and it later evolved into the Central Military Commission after the 7th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1945. In this period, the committee was always chaired by Mao Zedong.

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 (Chinese: 中央人民政府人民革命軍事委員會; pinyin: Zhōngyāng Rénmín Zhèngfǔ Rénmín Gémìng Jūnshì Wěiyuánhuì). 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 (Chinese: 中华人民共和国国防委员会; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Guófáng Wěiyuánhuì) chaired by the President in keeping with the 1954 Constitution.

As Mao Zedong was also the Chairman 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 by Lin Biao until his death in 1971, then by Ye Jianying. As a consequence of the Cultural Revolution, the Party CMC became the sole military overseeing body, and the National Defence Council was abolished in 1975.

Deng Xiaoping'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 the People's Republic 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.[5] Contrarily to the National Defense Council, however, the party and state CMCs are almost identical in leadership, composition, and powers.[5]

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 (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 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.

Functions

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.[6] 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.[7]

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. Unlike in most countries, the Central Military Commission is not an 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.[8]

The Library of Congress 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 CCP 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."

Structure

The CMC is composed of a chairman, vice chairpersons, and other members.[8] The CMC chairman is usually the CCP general secretary. The most important chain of command runs from the CMC to the 15 general departments and, in turn, to each of the service branches (ground, navy 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.

Departments

Prior to 2016, the PLA was governed by four general departments. These were abolished after the military reforms in 2016 by order of Chairman Xi Jinping, replaced with 15 departments that report directly to the CMC.[9] The new 15 departments are:[10]

  1. General Office (办公厅)
  2. Joint Staff Department (联合参谋部)
  3. Political Work Department (政治工作部)
  4. Logistic Support Department (后勤保障部)
  5. Equipment Development Department (装备发展部)
  6. Training and Administration Department (训练管理部)
  7. National Defense Mobilization Department (国防动员部)
  8. Discipline Inspection Commission (纪律检查委员会)
  9. Politics and Legal Affairs Commission (政法委员会)
  10. Science and Technology Commission (科学技术委员会)
  11. Office for Strategic Planning (战略规划办公室)
  12. Office for Reform and Organizational Structure (改革和编制办公室)
  13. Office for International Military Cooperation (国际军事合作办公室)
  14. Audit Office (审计署)
  15. Agency for Offices Administration (机关事务管理总局)

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

Members

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 by the virtue of their office.[11]

The make-up of the current Central Military Commission of the CCP was determined at the 20th Party Congress held in October 2022; the state commission was confirmed at the 1st Session of the 14th National People's Congress.[12][13]

CMC Chairman
Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, President of the People's Republic of China
CMC Vice Chairmen (2)
  1. General Zhang Youxia, member of the 19th Politburo and the 20th Politburo
  2. General He Weidong, member of the 20th Politburo
CMC Members (4)
  1. General Li Shangfu, (removed from the State Commission on 24 October 2023)
  2. General Liu Zhenli, Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department
  3. Admiral Miao Hua, Director of the Political Work Department
  4. General Zhang Shengmin Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection

Election

According to the CCP constitution, the members of the Party CMC is elected by the CCP's Central Committee.[14] In practice, membership is very closely controlled by the Politburo Standing Committee. Similarly, the State CMC is constitutionally elected by the National People's Congress (NPC) and theoretically reports to the NPC and its Standing Committee,[15] but is in practice indistinguishable from the Party 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 16th Party Congress in November 2002, but they entered the State CMC in March 2003, when the 1st Session of the 10th NPC convened.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wang, Yongsheng; Li, Yüping (2007). "Lijie Zhonggong Zhongyang Junshi Weiyuanhui de zucheng ji lishi beijing" 历届中共中央军事委员会的组成及历史背景 [The make-up and historical background of past iterations of the Central Military Commission]. Military History (in Chinese (China)) (6): 11–14.
  2. ↑ "Rumours swirl after China's defence minister, Li Shangfu, is sacked". The Economist. October 26, 2023. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-10-29. ...the state's Central Military Commission, a notional body that replicates another one with real power controlled by the party.
  3. ↑ Saunders, Phillip C.; Scobell, Andrew, eds. (2020-12-31), "3. The Riddle in the Middle: China's Central Military Commission in the Twenty-first Century", PLA Influence on China's National Security Policymaking, Stanford University Press, pp. 84–119, doi:10.1515/9780804796286-005, ISBN 978-0-8047-9628-6, S2CID 242615158
  4. 1 2 "How China is Ruled: Military Affairs Commission". BBC News. Archived from the original on May 14, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 Mulvenon, James C., ed. (2002). "The Pinnacle of the Pyramid: The Central Military Commission". The People's Liberation Army as Organization. RAND Corporation. ISBN 978-0-8330-3303-1. Archived from the original on 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  6. ↑ "Law of the People's Republic of China on National Defense". National People's Congress. 26 December 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "中华人民共和国国防法". Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China. 27 December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  8. 1 2 Liu, Zhen (18 October 2022). "What is China's Central Military Commission and why is it so powerful?". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Lague, David; Lim, Benjamin Kang (23 April 2019). "How China is replacing America as Asia's military titan". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  10. ↑ "国防部新闻事务局官微发布中央军委机关英文译名". People's Daily. Archived from the original on 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  11. ↑ "Regulations on the Military Ranks of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army". National People's Congress. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "新一届中央军委委员中3位是从战火中走出的将军". Sina. 2017-10-27. Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  13. ↑ "New PRC Central Military Commission vice chairmen, members pledge allegiance to Constitution". Xinhua News Agency. 11 March 2023. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  14. ↑ Panyue, Huang (27 October 2022). "Full text of Constitution of Communist Party of China - China Military". China Military. Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  15. ↑ "Constitution of the People's Republic of China". National People's Congress. Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
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