Chairman Xi Remakes the PLA
ASSESSING CHINESE MILITARY REFORMS
Edited by Phillip C. Saunders, Arthur S. Ding, Andrew Scobell,
Andrew N.D. Yang, and Joel Wuthnow
Edited by
Saunders, Ding,
Scobell, Yang, and
Wuthnow
Chairman Xi Remakes the PLA
ASSESSING CHINESE MILITARY REFORMS
C
hina’s current military reforms are unprecedented in their
ambition and in the scale and scope of the organizational
changes. Virtually every part of the People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) now reports to different leaders, has had its mission and
responsibilities changed, has lost or gained subordinate units, or
has undergone a major internal reorganization.
Drawing on papers presented at two conferences co-organized
by the U.S. National Defense University, RAND, and Taiwan’s Council
of Advanced Policy Studies, this edited volume brings together some of
the world’s best experts on the Chinese military to analyze the various
dimensions of the reforms in detail and assess their implications for the
PLA’s ability to conduct joint operations, for the Chinese Communist
Party’s control of the army, and for civil-military integration.
The contributors review the drivers and strategic context under-
pinning the reform effort, explore the various dimensions of PLA
efforts to build a force capable of conducting joint operations, con-
sider the implications for the PLA services, and examine Xi Jinping’s
role in driving the reforms through and using them to strengthen
control over the military. The chapters chronicle successes and
outstanding problems in the reform effort, and consider what the net
effect will be as the PLA strives to become a “world- class” military
by mid-century, if not much sooner.
