ABSTRACT
On July 22, 1998, PRC President Jiang Zemin publicly announced the dissolution of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's business empire, bringing an end to almost twenty years of government-sanctioned military commercialism. Five months later, the government declared that the PLA had been formally separated from its enterprises, which were henceforth being controlled by a government holding company pending asset valuation and sale. Beneath the veneer, however, has been a process marked by both common interests and acrimonious dispute. While the full details of the story cannot be known at present, enough information has been revealed to warrant a preliminary examination of the subject. This essay will attempt to explicate the extent of our knowledge thus far, examining the origins, course, structure, and important compromises of divestiture.
