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People's Liberation Army

Updated: Wikipedia source

People's Liberation Army

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four services—Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force—and four arms—Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, Information Support Force, and Joint Logistics Support Force. It operates under the absolute leadership of the CCP and is led by the Central Military Commission (CMC) with its chairman as commander-in-chief. The PLA can trace its origins during the Republican era to the left-wing units of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), when they broke away in 1927 in an uprising against the nationalist government as the Chinese Red Army before being reintegrated into the NRA as units of New Fourth Army and Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The two NRA communist units were reconstituted as the PLA in 1947. Since 1949, the PLA has used nine different military strategies, which it calls "strategic guidelines". The most important came in 1956, 1980, and 1993. Politically, the PLA and the paramilitary People's Armed Police (PAP) have the largest delegation in the National People's Congress (NPC); the joint delegation currently has 281 deputies—over 9% of the total—all of whom are CCP members. The PLA is not a traditional nation-state military. It is the armed wing of the CCP and controlled by the party, not by the state. The PLA's primary mission is the defense of the party and its interests. The PLA is the guarantor of the party's survival and rule, and the party prioritizes maintaining control and the loyalty of the PLA. According to Chinese law, the party has leadership over the armed forces and the CMC exercises supreme military command; the party and state CMCs are practically a single body by membership. Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has also been the CMC Chairman; this grants significant political power as the only member of the Politburo Standing Committee with direct responsibilities for the armed forces. The Ministry of National Defense has no command authority; it is the PLA's interface with state and foreign entities and insulates the PLA from external influence. Today, the majority of military units around the country are assigned to one of five theatre commands by geographical location. In addition to wartime arrangements, the PLA is also involved in the peacetime operations of other components of the armed forces. This is particularly visible in maritime territorial disputes where the navy is heavily involved in the planning, coordination and execution of operations by the PAP's China Coast Guard. The PLA is the world's largest military force (not including paramilitary or reserve forces) and has the second largest defence budget in the world. China's military expenditure was US$314 billion in 2024, accounting for 12 percent of the world's defence expenditures. It is also one of the fastest modernizing militaries in the world, and has been termed as a potential military superpower, with significant regional defence and rising global power projection capabilities.

Infobox

Motto
为人民服务("Serve the People")
Founded
1 August 1927; 98 years ago (1927-08-01)
Current form
10 October 1947; 78 years ago (1947-10-10)
Service branches
Services Ground Force Navy Air Force Rocket Force Arms Aerospace Force Cyberspace Force Information Support Force Joint Logistics Support Force
Headquarters
August First Building, Fuxing Road, Haidian, Beijing
Website
eng.chinamil.com.cn
Governing body
Central Military Commission
CMC leadership
Chairman: Xi JinpingVice Chairmen: General Zhang Youxia General Zhang Shengmin
Minister of National Defense
Admiral Dong Jun
Director of the Political Work Department
Vacant
Chief of the Joint Staff Department
General Liu Zhenli
Secretary of Discipline Inspection Commission
General Zhang Shengmin
Military age
18
Conscription
Inactive since 1949 (Law dictates a hybrid system of conscripts and volunteers)
Active personnel
2,035,000 (2025) (ranked 1st)
Reserve personnel
510,000 (2025)
Budget
US$314 billion (2024)(ranked 2nd)
Percent of GDP
1.7% (2024)
Domestic suppliers
China National Aero-Technology Import & Export CorporationChina Electronics Technology GroupNorincoChina Precision Machinery Import-Export CorporationAviation Industry Corporation of ChinaChina State Shipbuilding CorporationChina Shipbuilding Industry CorporationChina Aerospace Science and Technology CorporationChina Aerospace Science and Industry CorporationChina South Industries Group CorporationChina Electronics Technology GroupChina National Nuclear Corporation
Foreign suppliers
Russia France Ukraine Historical: Soviet Union
Annual imports
$14.858 billion(2010–2021)
Annual exports
$18.121 billion(2010–2021)
History
History of the PLA Modernization of the PLA Historical Chinese wars and battles Military engagements
Ranks
Army ranks Navy ranks Air force ranks

Tables

· External links
Preceded byEighth Route Army and New Fourth Army
Armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party 1 November 1948 – present
Incumbent

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