ABSTRACT
China is undergoing a comprehensive transformation, with military transformation as a key component engineered by post-Deng Xiaoping People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reforms. Generally speaking, the core of PLA transformation is determined by its changing relations with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Politics is now synonymous with Party leadership that entails tough and detailed control mechanisms in the institution of the Central Military Commission (CMC) chair system. The Party’s dual emphasis on the politics and war-fighting capabilities reflects its strategic vision and mission defined for the PLA: a revolutionary and professional armed force. The CCP’s control of the PLA has never been absolute, thanks to inherent loopholes in the Party’s organizational grip over the PLA. CCP–PLA relations are complicated and thus a sensitive topic in the study of the CCP.
