The military decision-making process in Beijing and its implications for the PLA's evolution

Abstract

Abstract The instruments of national power in the People's Republic of China (hereinafter PRC or China) consist of three major pillars: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP; party), the State Council (state), and the People's Liberation Army (PLA; military). The firm reign of the CCP over the entire country is upheld by nationalism, rapid economic growth, and the PLA. To accurately analyze the decision-making process of China's military security, it is necessary to resolve this complex function with multiple variables that surround the tripartite mechanism of the CCP, PRC, and PLA. This tripartite mechanism of the CCP, PRC, and PLA could be reframed as a complex of Mind (CCP), Money (PRC), and Might (PLA). In this paper, the authors indicate that the so-called “characteristic of China” is a political system designed to implement the CCP's mind through the PRC's money, with the PLA's might as the backbone. In practice, the center of gravity of this triangle is shaped by the general secretary of the CCP, the presidency of the PRC, and the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission (CMC). During the process of power transition, which could be initiated by law or through struggle, failing to establish a stable triangle could have a strong impact on China's military decision-making process. An unstable triangle of CCP, PRC, and PLA—with the opaque military decision-making process of China—could lead to unpredictable consequences, not only for the Taiwan Strait, but also for the Asia–Pacific region.