[20210105]IF11719_中国军方：中国人民解放军.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov January 5, 2021Chinas Military: The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA)Overview The two-million-strong Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is the military arm of the Peoples Republic of Chinas (PRCs) ruling Communist Party. The Trump Administration identified strategic competition with China and Russia as “the primary concern in U.S. national security” in 2018 and U.S. defense officials have since said that China is the U.S. Department of Defenses (DODs) top priority. According to a 2020 DOD report, the PLA has “already achieved parity withor even exceededthe United States” in several areas in which it has focused its military modernization efforts and is strengthening its ability to “counter an intervention by an adversary in the Indo-Pacific region and project power globally.” See also CRS In Focus IF11712, U.S.-China Military-to-Military Relations. PLA Organization Established in 1927, the PLA predates the founding of the PRC in 1949. The Chinese Communist Party oversees the PLA through the Partys Central Military Commission, Chinas top military decisionmaking body, which is akin to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Central Military Commission also oversees