Military Administrative Hierarchy

Both organisations and officers in the PLA are organised into an administrative hierarchy (行政级别) that consists of 15 grades. Unlike most military systems around the world, the grades and ranks for officers are not completely synonymous in the PLA, since there are 15 administrative grades and only 10 ranks. This is due to the fact that for the majority of time prior to 1988, the PLA did not have a rank system and officers were only identified by their job titles and positions.

Officer Grades

Within the PLA, the administrative grade, not the rank, has always reflected authority and responsibility across services, branch, and organisational lines. Therefore, grade is a key indicator of position within the hierarchy of the PLA. PLA officers are assigned to one of the 15 administrative grades, each corresponding to a primary rank and a secondary rank. Because there are only 10 ranks but 15 administrative grades, each rank corresponds to more than one grade. For example, major general is be the primary rank for corps-grade and deputy corps-grade positions, and also the secondary rank for division-grade positions.

Generally speaking, a position of a particular administrative grade should be given to an officer who holds the primary rank for that grade. However, in some cases, it could also be given to an officer with the second rank. For example, the regiment commander position (regiment-grade) is normally given to a colonel, but could also be given to a lieutenant colonel if there is no other suitable candidate available. Another reason for introducing the secondary rank is to allow officers serving long enough to be promoted to a higher rank, even if there is no higher-grade position immediately available.

Unit Grades

Units, departments and other organs within the PLA are each assigned with one of the 14 administrative grades, which corresponds to the grades in the officer grade hierarchy. The grade of an organisation’s chief leaders (i.e. the commander and the political officer) generally corresponds to the administrative grade of that unit. For example, an infantry regiment, which is a ‘regiment-grade’ organisation, is headed by a regiment commander and a regiment political commissar, both of which are ‘regiment-grade’ positions.

Because the administrative hierarchy was developed during the pre-1949 era, it uses Army terminology, such as ‘corps’, ‘division’, ‘regiment’, etc. though it also applies to the Navy and Air Force. For example, a naval flotilla is a ‘division-grade’ unit, whereas a destroyer is a ‘regiment-grade’ unit. It is worth noting that in some very rare cases, the name of a unit does not reflect the unit’s true administrative grade. For example, the Central Guard Regiment is actually a division-grade unit.

* Only the General Staff and General Political Departments are "general department grade" organs. The other two general departments are "military region grade", which is one grade lower.

Last update: 24 August 2008