Strengthening the training of commanding officers for joint operations. Various measures are being taken to step up efforts to train commanding officers for joint operations, such as institutional education, on-the-job study and rotation of posts. Incorporating joint operations into the whole training process, the PLA carefully distinguishes between the training tasks of educational institutions of different levels and types, and couples institutional education with training in units, so as to establish a system for training joint operations commanding officers which emphasizes both institutional education and practice in units. The PLA has launched the Key Projects of Military Educational Institutions and made step-by-step progress in these projects.

Selecting and training officer candidates. In October 2007, the CMC approved and the four general headquarters/departments jointly promulgated the Regulations of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on the Admission Work of Educational Institutions, regulating the admission of high-school graduates and enlisted men into military educational institutions. At the end of 2007 the Ministry of Education and the General Political Department of the PLA co-sponsored a conference on the issue of training PLA officers via regular institutions of higher learning. At present, there are 117 colleges and universities with defense students. The PLA has selected nearly 1,000 key middle schools in the various provinces and municipalities as the main sources of defense students.

Creating a favorable environment for cultivating talented people. The PLA has established and improved a mechanism for rewarding and inspiring talented people, issuing high rewards to outstanding commanding officers, staff officers and technical experts, as well as teams which have made great contributions in scientific and technological innovation. Since 2007 additional funds amounting to 700 million yuan have been devoted to talent cultivation. In July 2007 the CMC promulgated the Provisions of the Armed Forces on Attracting and Retaining High-level Specialized Technical Personnel, specifying effective measures to attract and retain particularly leading scientists, first-rate personnel in specific disciplines and technical experts. In March 2008 the Guideline of the Chinese People's Liberation Army for the Evaluation of Commanding Officers, the Implementation Measures of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on the Evaluation of Commanding Officers and the Standards of the Chinese People's Liberation Army for the Evaluation of Commanding Officers (Trial) were published, which marked the initial establishment of a system for the evaluation of commanding officers in accordance with the requirements of scientific development.

Persisting in Governing the Forces in Accordance With the Law

The PLA persists in taking it as the basic requirement of the regularization drive to govern the armed forces in accordance with the law, and emphasizes scientific legislation and strict law enforcement to enhance its level of regularization.

In the past 30 years of reform and opening up, the military legislative system has been improved step by step, and remarkable achievements have been made in military legislation. In 1988, the CMC set up a legal organ, and the general headquarters/departments, Navy, Air Force, Second Artillery Force and military area commands designated specific departments to be in charge of legal affairs. In 1997, the Law of the People's Republic of China on National Defense was promulgated, specifying that the CMC enacts military regulations in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws. The Law of the People's Republic of China on Legislation promulgated in 2000 further defined the legislative authority of the CMC, general headquarters/departments, Navy, Air Force, Second Artillery Force, and military area commands. By October 2008, the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee had made 15 laws and law-related decisions concerning national defense and armed forces building; the State Council and the CMC had jointly formulated 93 military administrative regulations; the CMC had formulated 214 military regulations; and the general headquarters/departments, Navy, Air Force, Second Artillery Force, military area commands and People's Armed Police Force (PAPF) had enacted more than 3,000 military rules and regulations. In June 2007 and December 2008, the NPC Standing Committee ratified respectively the Treaty on the Temporary Stay of the Army of One Party in the Territory of the Other Party During the Period of Joint Military Exercises between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation and the Agreement Among the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Conducting Joint Military Exercises.

The PLA persists in governing the forces strictly and in accordance with the law, and improves the mechanism for making decisions and providing guidance in accordance with the law in an effort to institutionalize and regularize military, political, logistical and equipment work. It practices scientific management, strictly enforces rules and regulations, and incorporates the cultivation of proper style and strict discipline into the routine education and administration of the forces. Through strict training and daily cultivation, the PLA aims to build a force with a refined military posture, strict discipline and fine work style.

Taking disseminating knowledge of the law as an important part of strengthening all-round building, the PLA places emphasis on disseminating legal knowledge, and is stepping up efforts to popularize knowledge of the law with a clear aim and in an active and effective way. Units with security tasks in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics organized officers and men to study relevant laws and regulations to enhance their legal awareness and their capability of dealing with emergencies in accordance with the law. Officers and men of units tasked with international peacekeeping missions and of naval ships making port calls have been organized to study the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, etc. In November 2007 the Chinese government established the National Committee for International Humanitarian Law, under the arrangement and coordination of which relevant military agencies disseminate knowledge of and implement international humanitarian law within the PLA.

IV. The Army

As the basis of the PLA, the Army is a service mainly conducting land operations. It consists of such arms as infantry, armor, artillery, air defense, aviation, engineering, signals, chemical defense and electronic countermeasures (ECM), as well as various specialized service units.

History of Development

The PLA was founded on August 1, 1927, and comprised only the Army in its early days. For a long time the Army was mainly composed of infantry. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War (1927-37) a small number of cavalry, artillery, engineering and signals troops were added. The Liberation War (1946-49) witnessed the advent of tank and chemical defense forces. In the 1950s, the Army set up leading organs for such arms as artillery, armor, engineering and chemical defense. Since the 1980s, the structure of the Army has changed dramatically, with the creation of the aviation and ECM arms and the establishment in 1985 of Army combined corps. After 81 years of development, the Army has grown from a single arm into a modern army with various arms. It has become a powerful service capable of conducting both independent and joint operations with the Navy, Air Force and Second Artillery Force.

Structure and Organization

The Army has no independent leading body, and its leadership is exercised by the four general headquarters/departments. The seven military area commands exercise direct leadership over the Army units under them. The Army includes units of mobile operational, garrison, border and coastal defense, and reserve troops. The organizational order of these units is combined corps, division (brigade), regiment, battalion, company, platoon and squad. Directly under a military area command, a combined corps consists of divisions or brigades, and acts as a basic formation at the operational level. Directly under a combined corps, a division consists of regiments and acts as a basic formation at the tactical level. Directly under a combined corps, a brigade consists of battalions, and acts as a formation at the tactical level. Normally under a division, a regiment consists of battalions, and acts as a basic tactical unit. Normally under a regiment or brigade, a battalion consists of companies, and acts as a tactical element at a higher level. A company consists of platoons, and acts as a basic tactical element. The Army mobile operational units include 18 combined corps and some independent combined operational divisions (brigades).

Force Building

In recent years, in line with the strategic requirements of mobile operations and three-dimensional offense and defense, the Army has been moving from regional defense to trans-regional mobility. It is gradually making its units small, modular and multi-functional in organization through appropriate downsizing and structural reform. It is accelerating the development of aviation, light mechanized and information countermeasure forces, and gives priority to the development of operational and tactical missile, ground-to-air missile and special operations forces, so as to increase its capabilities for air-ground integrated operations, long-distance maneuvers, rapid assaults and special operations.