Having ousted Gen. Xu Caihou, Xi targets antiquated, Soviet-style command structure

Special to WorldTribune.com

President Xi Jinping has begun plans to streamline the antiquated People’s Liberation Army’s command-and-control systems, which are poorly equipped to handle modern warfare.

Gen. Liu Yuan, a key political commissar for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, is set for a promotion. /Jason Lee/Reuters

Xi, who is Chairman of the policy-setting Central Military Commission pointed out at a meeting of senior generals early this week (Sept. 22) that the PLA “must strive to build new types of command that follow party instructions and are skilled in planning combat strategies … in the face of a new national security situation and new requirements for defense preparation.”

Currently, four departments share responsibility for strategic planning and execution of orders. … The PLA’s ground forces are run by the commanders of the seven military regions.

This convoluted hierarchy dates from the 1950s, when Chairman Mao, one of the founders of the PLA, was largely copying the Soviet command structure.

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Central Military Commission, Gen. Liu Yuan, Having ousted Gen. Xu Caihou, PLA, Soviet-style command structure, Xi targets antiquated

Having ousted Gen. Xu Caihou, Xi targets antiquated, Soviet-style command structure added by World Tribune on October 1, 2014
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