Beneath the Party and State 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. According to PRC writings, the primarily responsibilities of the MND include defence modernisation and providing unified administrative support for the armed forces. However, in reality the MND’s functions are exercised by the four general departments of the PLA, who report to the CMC, not the State Council. The MND only exists on paper, with no staffs or premises. The position of the Defence Minister is held by a member of the CMC concurrently, only to serve as a public relation façade when dealing with foreign military and press.
Prior to 1949, the PLA was under the absolute leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which controls the military through its Central Military Commission (CMC). This did not pose a problem since at the time the CCP did not form a government as such. Following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on 1 October 1949, the People’s Revolution Military Commission was established as part of the Central People’s Government. The commission, composed of 22 CCP members and 7 members of other minor parties, replaced the existing CMC of the CCP to serve as the state’s supreme military authority.
The first PRC Constitution passed in September 1954 established the National Defence Commission within the State government structure as a consultative organ for military issues. It also created the Defence Minister in the State Council (central government). At the same time, the People’s Revolution Military Commission was abolished and replaced by the Central Military Commission (CMC), which was re-established within the CCP’s central committee as the supreme military leading organ. This ensures that the PLA remains an organ of the Party, instead of the State. Under the new system, the CCP’s central committee and Secretariat issues orders to the armed forces in the name of the CMC internally, and in the name of the Ministry of National Defence publicly.
Before 1966, the head of the CMC was concurrently the Defence Minister, and the PLA’s Chief of the General Staff and few other senior officials were concurrently the deputy ministers. However, the MND itself as a government body was never realised. In July 1958, the CCP passed a new regulation to authorise the CMC to use the name of the MND in public domain. After Lin Biao took over the Defence Minister position in 1959, the number of deputy ministers had risen to as many as 10.
After the ‘Cultural Revolution’ began in May 1966, the MND and the position of the Defence Minister in the government system were completely abolished. The CMC became the sole body responsible for leading the armed forces. This lasted until 1975, when Ye Jianying was appointed the Defence Minister, and Su Yu and Xu Shiyou the deputy ministers. During this period, the CMC and MND coexisted in the official writings of the PRC.
The 1982 PRC Constitution established the State Central Military Commission as the leading organ of the armed forces in the PRC’s government system. The membership of the State CMC is exactly identical to that of the Party CMC. The MND exists in the State government system, responsible for international military exchanges, conscription, and defence education roles. However, in practice these roles are carried out by various organs in the General Staff Department. For example:
MND Organs
Actual Functional Departments in the GSD
Foreign Affairs Office (国防部外事办公室)
Foreign Affairs Office
Conscription Office (国防部征兵办公室)
Military Affairs Department
Peacekeeping Office (国防部维和办公室)
Intelligence Department
There is also a Ministry of National Defence Press Affairs Office (国防部新闻事务办公室) being set up in early 2008, with a MND Spokesman responsible for holding regular press conference and accepting press interviews. The office is subordinate to the GSD Foreign Affairs Office in organisational structure.
The current Defence Minister is General LIANG Guanglie, who was appointed in 2008. Before taking over the position, he was the Chief of the General Staff of the PLA. He is concurrently a State Councillor (senior members of the cabinet), a member of the CMC, and a member of the CCP’s Central Committee. Also he retained the position as the Party secretary of the GSD, enabling him to retain direct control over all important appointments and promotions in the GSD.
