People's Liberation Army

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA; Chinese: 中国人民解放军) is the armed forces of the People's Republic of China and the Communist Party of China (CPC). 1 August is celebrated annually as the Army Day commemorating Nanchang Uprising on 1 August 1927. The PLA consists of five professional service branches: the Ground Force, the Navy, the Air Force, the Rocket Force and the Strategic Support Force. The PLA is the world's largest military force, with a strength of approximately 2,285,000 personnel, 0.18% of the country's population. In September 2015, President Xi Jinping announced that he would reduce the country's military personnel by 300,000. The PLA's insignia consists of a roundel with a red star bearing the Chinese characters for Eight One, referring to August 1.

The PLA is under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the CPC. Following the principle of civilian control of the military, the commander in chief is the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (usually the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China). The Ministry of National Defense, which operates under the State Council, does not exercise any authority over the PLA and is far less powerful than the CMC. A system of political officers embedded within the military assures party authority over the armed forces, so that the primary role of the Ministry of Defense is that of a liaison office with foreign militaries. The political and military leadership have made a concerted effort to create a professional military force restricted to national defence and to the provision of assistance in domestic economic construction and emergency relief. This conception of the role of the PLA requires the promotion of specialised officers who can understand modern weaponry and handle combined arms operations. Troops around the country are stationed in five military theaters and more than 20 military districts.

People's Liberation Army Ground Force

The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) (simplified Chinese: 中国人民解放军陆军; traditional Chinese: 中國人民解放軍陸軍; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Lùjūn) is the land-based military service branch of the People's Liberation Army and it is the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927, however it wasn't officially established until 1948. As of 2013, the PLAGF has a strength of 1,600,000 personnel making it the largest standing army in the world. In addition, the People's Liberation Army Ground Force has an estimated 510,000 strong reserve force.

History

The PLA ground forces consisted of conventionally armed main and regional units, which in 1987 made up over 70 percent of the PLA. It provided a good conventional defense, but had only limited offensive potential and was poorly equipped for nuclear, biological, or chemical warfare. Main forces included about 35 group armies, comprising 118 infantry divisions, 13 armored divisions, and 33 artillery and antiaircraft artillery divisions, plus 71 independent regiments and 21 independent battalions of mostly support troops. Regional forces consisted of 73 divisions of border defense and garrison troops plus 140 independent regiments.

Chinese Army (disambiguation)

Two existing armies have been known in English as the Chinese Army:

For the Chinese army between 1927 and 1947, see:

For Chinese armies before 1912, see:

See also

Chinese military (disambiguation)