The Symbiotic relationship of the PLA with Communist Party of China

  • Unique Paper ID: 183813
  • PageNo: 3108-3155
  • Abstract:
  • This article examines the historical evolution and enduring symbiotic relationship between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a rare case of a national army owing allegiance to a political party rather than the state. Tracing its origins to the 1927 Nanchang Uprising, the PLA has remained under the CPC’s absolute leadership through institutional mechanisms such as the Party committee system, the political commissar system, and extensive political work regulations. Successive leaders—from Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping to Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping—have reinforced the principle that “the Party commands the gun,” adapting the PLA’s structure, doctrine, and missions in line with political objectives and national strategies. Under Xi, sweeping anti-corruption campaigns, organizational reforms, and the pursuit of informatized warfare have deepened the Party’s control while modernizing the PLA into a force aimed at supporting China’s rise as a global power. Despite institutionalization, challenges persist, including corruption, dual-command inefficiencies, Western influences, and questions about Party-army relations in a possible future multiparty system. The PLA’s ongoing reforms emphasize the “Three Warfares,” informatization, and cultivation of political officers with both ideological and technical expertise to sustain the Party’s absolute leadership. Ultimately, the article argues that Party-army relations in China have been central to both military development and CPC’s political dominance, and their evolution will shape China’s future trajectory as a major power.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{183813,
        author = {Chaitanya Capoor},
        title = {The Symbiotic relationship of the PLA with  Communist Party of China},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {3},
        pages = {3108-3155},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=183813},
        abstract = {This article examines the historical evolution and enduring symbiotic relationship between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a rare case of a national army owing allegiance to a political party rather than the state. Tracing its origins to the 1927 Nanchang Uprising, the PLA has remained under the CPC’s absolute leadership through institutional mechanisms such as the Party committee system, the political commissar system, and extensive political work regulations. Successive leaders—from Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping to Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping—have reinforced the principle that “the Party commands the gun,” adapting the PLA’s structure, doctrine, and missions in line with political objectives and national strategies. Under Xi, sweeping anti-corruption campaigns, organizational reforms, and the pursuit of informatized warfare have deepened the Party’s control while modernizing the PLA into a force aimed at supporting China’s rise as a global power. Despite institutionalization, challenges persist, including corruption, dual-command inefficiencies, Western influences, and questions about Party-army relations in a possible future multiparty system. The PLA’s ongoing reforms emphasize the “Three Warfares,” informatization, and cultivation of political officers with both ideological and technical expertise to sustain the Party’s absolute leadership. Ultimately, the article argues that Party-army relations in China have been central to both military development and CPC’s political dominance, and their evolution will shape China’s future trajectory as a major power.},
        keywords = {People’s Liberation Army (PLA); Communist Party of China (CPC); Party-army relations; Political commissar system; Military modernization; Informatized warfare; Central Military Commission (CMC).},
        month = {August},
        }

Cite This Article

Capoor, C. (2025). The Symbiotic relationship of the PLA with Communist Party of China. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 12(3), 3108–3155.

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