People's Liberation Army General Staff Department
The People's Liberation Army General Staff Department, preceded by the General Staff of the People's Revolutionary Military Committee, was the former command organ and headquarters for the People's Liberation Army of China. Its duties included PLA Operations Command, Recruitment, Mobilization, Formation, Training and Administration. The PLA General Staff Headquarters was located in Beijing and its last commander was General Fang Fenghui.
The General Staff was under the absolute leadership of the Central Military Commission and under the political supervision of the PLA General Political Department.
During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s the Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff, commonly referred to as "the 2nd Bureau" was active in funding, arming and training dozens of Asian, African and Latin American militant groups and liberation movements; especially in the case of Africa, the Intelligence Bureau "supplied, at one time or another, nearly all of the various African liberation movements with arms, money, food and medicines". Among those who received military training were Pol Pot and Abimael Guzmán.
The General Staff was disbanded as part of the January 2016 military reform and its operations were consolidated into the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.List of General Staff Bureaus
- Combat Operations Command
- Combat Communications
- Military Intelligence
- Mobilization
- Electronic Warfare
- Foreign Relations
- Management
List of Chiefs of the General Staff
Note: From the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and until the creation of the General Staff Department in 1954, the duties of the Chief of the General Staff were performed by General Xu Xiangqian, who held the title Chief of Staff of the People's Revolutionary Military Committee of the Central People's Government.
For the new office, see Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.
