Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China


The Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China or for short the "National Defense Ministry" is the 2nd-ranked ministry under the State Council. It is headed by the Minister of National Defense.
The MND was set up according to a decision adopted by the 1st Session of the 1st National People's Congress in 1954. In contrast to practice in other nations, the MND does not exercise command authority over the People's Liberation Army, which is instead subordinate to the Central Military Commission. Instead, the MND itself only serves as liaison body representing the CMC and PLA when dealing with foreign militaries in military exchange and cooperation.
Its official responsibilities had been to exercise unified administration over the development of the armed forces of the country such as recruitment, organization, equipment, training, scientific military research of the People's Liberation Army and the ranking and remuneration of the officers and servicemen. However, in reality these responsibilities are carried out by the CMC's 15 departments.

Structure

There are a number of departments under the Ministry of National
Defense:
The Ministry of National Defense General Office is in fact the same body as the CMC General Office. Other offices are also staffed by personnel from the Joint Staff Department.

Minister

Although the Ministry itself does not exercise much authority, the role of the Minister of National Defense has always been viewed as one of the most important positions in the country's political system. The position of Minister has always been given to an active military officer, a State Councilor and a member of the Communist Party's Central Committee and member of the Central Military Commission, enabling him to take part in the decision making in the PLA, the Government and the Party.

List of Defense Ministers