Organization · Military command
Central Military Commission
Top Party-state military command body
The Central Military Commission is the top Party-state military command body.
WHY THIS ENTITY MATTERS
RH ASSESSMENT
The CMC is the principal hub linking Xi Jinping, Zhang Shengmin, the People’s Liberation Army, and functional departments including the Joint Staff.
- Record type
- Organization dossier
- Primary role
- Top Party-state military command body
- Network sector
- Military command
- Documented links
- 6
Profile
The Central Military Commission is the top Party-state military command body.
Scope note: this foundation dossier is limited to the selected public records behind the RH China network. It does not claim a complete biography, ownership history, command structure, or account of private influence.
Documented connections
Every relationship below is labeled by evidence type and carries the limitation recorded in the network source ledger.
Xi Jinping is chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Limit: The cited record establishes a formal role. It does not establish control over every decision or private closeness.
Xinhua · current CPC leadershipZhang Shengmin became a CMC vice chairman in October 2025 and remained publicly active in that role in July 2026.
Limit: The cited record establishes a formal role. It does not establish control over every decision or private closeness.
Xinhua · Zhang Shengmin named CMC vice chairmanThe People’s Liberation Army is under Central Military Commission leadership and command.
Limit: The institutional relationship does not reveal every reporting line, internal decision, or operational instruction.
Ministry of National Defense · China’s armed forcesThe Joint Staff Department is one of the CMC’s functional departments.
Limit: The cited structure does not resolve every internal reporting line or the current permanent department chief.
U.S. Defense Department · China military reportZhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were formally removed from the state CMC on 28 August 2026.
Limit: The removal record does not by itself disclose who assumed every vacated function or title.
Reuters · state CMC removalsZhang Shengmin’s CMC role is paired with leadership of the military discipline system.
Limit: The public record does not disclose every military discipline investigation or reporting channel.
Xinhua · Zhang Shengmin named CMC vice chairmanWhat to watch
- Does the publicly identified leadership or mandate of Central Military Commission change?
- Do official records document new coordination with Xi Jinping?
- Do later sources confirm, narrow, or supersede the relationships recorded here?
Source record
- 01Xinhua · current CPC leadership
Official leadership directory for the CPC Central Committee and Politburo Standing Committee.
- 02Xinhua · Zhang Shengmin named CMC vice chairman
Official appointment record dated 23 October 2025.
- 03Ministry of National Defense · China’s armed forces
Official public description of the People’s Liberation Army and military structure.
- 04U.S. Defense Department · China military report
External institutional reference for the CMC departments and Joint Staff role; later removals require the leadership caveat shown on the map.
- 05Reuters · state CMC removals
Independent reporting on the formal 28 August 2026 removal of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from the state Central Military Commission.