The Central Military Commission (CMC) is the highest military leading organ of the PRC. It directs the armed forces of the country.

The CMC is composed of a chairman, vice chairmen and members. The chairman of the CMC is elected to the same length of term as the NPC, but there is no restriction on his tenure of office.

The armed forces of the PRC are composed of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese People's Armed Police Force and the militia.

The PLA serves as the main force to resist external aggression, defend the country, and safeguard national sovereignty and security. Its basic organizational structure can be categorized into the general headquarters/departments, the services and arms and the military area commands.

The general headquarters/departments. The PLA's general headquarters/departments system is composed of the General Staff Headquarters, the General Political Department, the General Logistics Department and the General Armaments Department, which are placed under the leadership of the CMC. The CMC, through these four general headquarters/departments, directs all military area commands and the services and arms.

The services and arms. The PLA is composed of three services¨Cthe Army, Navy and Air Force¨Cand an independent arm, the Second Artillery Force.

The military area commands. The military area commands (theaters of war) of the PLA are military organizations set up according to the state's administrative divisions, geographical locations, strategic and operational orientations, and operational tasks. Currently, the PLA has seven military area commands, namely, Shenyang, Beijing, Lanzhou, Jinan, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

The PLA is made up of both active and reserve components. The PLA's reserve force, established in 1983, is a force with its own preset organizational structure, with reserve personnel as the base and active personnel as the backbone. Its establishment is for the purpose of rapid organic mobilization in wartime. The reserve force is incorporated into the PLA's order of battle. In peacetime, it is led by the provincial military commands, and in wartime, after mobilization, it is commanded by designated active units.

The Chinese People's Armed Police Force is an important component of the national armed forces, which undertakes the task of maintaining security as entrusted by the state and safeguards social order. It is under the dual leadership of the State Council and the CMC, and consists of internal security forces, frontier police forces, fire brigades, security guards and gold mine, water and power, transportation security and forest forces.

The militia is a reserve force of the national armed forces.

The current CMC Chairman is Jiang Zemin.

On March 16, 2003, the First Session of the 10th NPC, in accordance with nominations of CMC Chairman Jiang Zemin, approved Hu Jintao, Guo Boxiong and Cao Gangchuan as vice chairmen and Xu Caihou, Liang Guanglie, Liao Xilong and Li Jinai as members of the CMC.