Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Rise of the Military and Space Advocate Factions in China

Much has been written about the growing influence of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) generals on China’s foreign policy. Little has been said about military entrepreneurs and other non-combatant PLA personnel moving into China’s domestic governance. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, an unprecedented number of senior cadres from the country’s labyrinthine jungong hangtian (military-industrial and space-technology) complex are being inducted to high-level Party-government organs or transferred to regional administrations. Given the perception that officials with military backgrounds tend to be more conservative and unquestionably loyal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, the partial militarization of the civilian Party-state apparatus will have far-reaching implications for the prospects of political and economic reforms, among others.

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