The Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China is the head of the Ministry of National Defense and one of the top positions in the State Council. The minister usually is also a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the top governing body of China's armed forces including the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Unlike in other countries, the minister does not have command authority over the armed forces, with the post generally used for diplomatic purposes. Nevertheless, the post has always been held by a member of the CMC.
The current minister of National Defense is Dong Jun, who has been serving in the position since December 2023.
Historically, both the position and the ministry carried greater power.[1] In the first decades of the PRC, the ministry included several more departments. all overseen by vice ministers. The minister was held by influential generals, including Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao and Ye Jianying.[1]
The ministry was reformed into its current state in the 1982 constitutional revision. Between 1982 and 2008, the minister usually concurrently served as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and was usually a member of the Politburo. In addition, all ministers of National Defense would also be appointed as the state councillor, a position in the State Council newly established in 1982 consisting of high-ranking officeholders. And since all defense ministers are members of the CMC, in official state rhetoric, the ministers of National Defense is to be referred to as the "State Councillor and Minister of National Defense".[a] After 2008, holders of the position stopped serving concurrently as a CMC vice chair, further weakening the position.[1]
Among all its officeholders, Geng Biao was the only defence minister with a civil background, having no military rank of the PLA, neither was he a member thereof. Nonetheless, Geng did serve in the Red Army long before PLA’s foundation. With the exception of the aforementioned officeholder, all defence ministers in prior to Wei Fenghe came from the PLA Ground Force. In addition, current officeholder is yet to be appointed as a state councillor, making it the only exception to the aforementioned co-serving norm.[5]
Notably, under the tenure of the President and CMC Chairman Xi Jinping, a series of major military scandals occurred from 2023 to June 2024, which eventually saw two of his former defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, expelled from the Party, with their military titles revoked.[6] Prior to this, Li was removed from the office only a couple of months after his appointment in March 2023, causing the position to be briefly vacant from October.[7] This was until Admiral Dong Jun was appointed into the office in December of the same year, making Dong the first person with a navy background to become the defence minister of the PRC. Besides, the Rocket Force, in which Wei was a member, also saw a purge that year, with corruption investigating taking place.[8]
Officially, the minister is nominated by the premier of the State Council, who is then approved by the National People's Congress or its Standing Committee and appointed by the president.[9]
The military is under the governance of the CMC, putting the Ministry of National Defense out of the chain of command,[10] the minister is significantly less powerful than his counterparts from other countries, and has no direct command function over the military.[11] The post is generally seen as a diplomatic and ceremonial role, with the minister handling military-to-military ties with other countries.[12] However, the office has always been held by a member of the CMC.[13] Though the minister has historically been assisted by vice ministers, the ministry currently has no vice ministers.[1]
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