BEIJING—Chinese President Xi Jinping added a new military leadership post to his already extensive collection of official titles—commander-in-chief of a new joint-battle-command center—given as part of the biggest restructuring of the armed forces since the 1950s.
State media announced the title and the setting up of the new command center this week in reports that on state television showed Mr. Xi making a rare public appearance in green camouflage fatigues and black combat boots.
The changes are the latest in an overhaul of the military command structure that Mr. Xi has pushed in the past few months to strengthen his control of the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, and transform it into a modern fighting force.
The U.S. and many Asian countries have been monitoring Mr. Xi’s military reforms closely, amid mounting concern about China’s expanding military firepower and recent assertiveness on territorial disputes in Asia.
General secretary of the Communist Party and president, Mr. Xi also has titular command of the PLA in his role as the head—and only civilian—on the party’s 12-man commission that oversees the military. But the PLA has often resisted civilian control, while itself playing a role in party politics. In recent years corruption and business interests have detracted from the armed forces’ modernization and professionalization.
Key to serving both modernization and Mr. Xi’s control, defense experts say, is creating a joint-command structure resembling that of the U.S., in which regional commanders responsible for combat control all air, naval and other forces in their area. Previously, the different branches of the armed forces often failed to coordinate with each other, and the army was given disproportionate power and resources under a structure that dated back to the 1950s and that is ill-suited for modern, high-tech warfare.
Mr. Xi has ordered that the PLA’s ranks be trimmed by 300,000 to roughly two million troops. He has scrapped the PLA’s seven military regions and four general departments, which had often defied central oversight and been a source of corruption. They are being replaced with five new regional or theater commands and 15 new offices under Mr. Xi’s direct control.
These new theater-command chiefs will report to the new joint-battle-command center, headed by Mr. Xi, while service chiefs will be tasked with organizing, training and equipping their forces, experts say.
During his Wednesday visit to the command center, Mr. Xi urged its staff to build a joint-battle-command system that was “absolutely loyal, resourceful in fighting, efficient in commanding and courageous and capable of winning wars,” the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying. The report began by listing his new title, commander-in-chief.
When previously reporting about his military duties, state media referred to Mr. Xi as “chairman,” his title as head of the Central Military Commission. Like other Chinese leaders in recent decades, he has usually worn a dark green Mao suit for military appearances.
In addition to his party, military and state titles, Mr. Xi is also head of a new National Security Commission and in charge of other party committees in areas ranging from economic overhauls to Internet security. http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-xi-adds-commander-in-chief-to-his-titles-1461245897
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