Publication

This paper argues that although Beijing denies it, Xi Jinping is attempting to reorganize China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to enhance its joint warfare capability. The author suggests that this change, which involves a merging of the country’s military regions, is intended to allow the PLA to respond better to external threats, especially in disputed maritime domains. He also argues that while the reorganization implies a gradual transformation of the PLA to something closer to a true state army, there are formidable obstacles to creating a single unified command and control structure at the national level.