Ministry of National Defence
Last updated: 31 December 2007
Beneath the State and Party Central Military Commissions (CMC) is the Ministry of National Defence (MND), which acts for the State Council (central government) but has no operational control over the PLA. The MND was set up according to a decision adopted by the 1st Session of the 1st National People's Congress in 1954. It is primarily responsible for military modernisation and providing unified administrative support for the armed forces. Its responsibilities include planning, manpower, budget, R&D, foreign liaison, and training materials, but it possesses no policy-making or implementation authority.
In reality, the MND is a public relation façade that only exists on paper. The regular functions of the MND are fulfilled by the four PLA general headquarters, which answer to the CMC, not the State Council. For example, functions of the MND Foreign Affair Office are in fact performed by the GSD Foreign Affair Bureau, and those of the MND Recruitment Office are performed by the GSD Recruitment Bureau. The MND General Office is concurrently the General Office of the State and Party CMC. The name of the MND appears when the PLA is involved in foreign affairs such as signing bilateral or multilateral military agreements, meeting foreign military visitors and attaches, and providing military attaches to Chinese embassies.
As a result of this system, the executive control of the military through the supervision of a defence department or ministry in his or her cabinet does not exist in China. However, this does not mean that the relationship between the CMC and
the State Council has to be conflicting. The position of the Minister of National Defence is normally given to a Vice Chairman of the CMC, who is also concurrently a State Councillor (senior members of the cabinet) and a member of the Communist Party Politburo. This enables the Minister of National Defence to meet the Premier and Vice Premiers regularly in the meetings of these councils.
The MND hasn’t had a Vice Minister since 1983. Another important trend is that following the retirement of the last Minister of National Defence General Cao Gangchuan in October 2007, the minister position is likely to be given to General Liang Guanglie, who is only a member of the CMC, not the Vice Chairman. Additionally, the new Minister of National Defence is no longer a member of the CCP Secretariat. This change will further reduce the military’s influence in the party’s policy-making.
MND Spokesperson
On 27 December 2007, the director of the State Council Press Office Cai Wu confirmed that the Ministry of National Defence was establishing a Press Bureau and would introduce an official spokesperson for the first time in 2008. He said that the MND spokesperson would hold regular news conferences and accept telephone interviews from domestic and foreign press.
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