Shanshan Mei and Dennis J. Blasko
Among the most significant personnel changes of the Chinese Communist Party's recent Third Plenum meeting are two that didn't happen: Adm. Dong Jun, the country's defense minister, was neither added to the Central Military Commission nor appointed a State Councilor. This is an apparent demotion for the defense ministry, and could complicate the military-to-military relationship between China and the United States.
Traditionally, the head of the Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China has been a member of the Party and state CMCs. That gave the incumbent direct access to Xi Jinping, who—along with being president of the People's Republic of China and the Party's General Secretary—is CMC chairman. The defense minister typically has also been a State Councilor, granting him status equal to the other national-level ministers and giving him direct access to the Chinese premier, the second-ranking Party leader and the PRC's head of government.
No comments:
Post a Comment