The PLA at Home and Abroad - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

Although, the Xinhua article quoted above describes
China’s military diplomacy as an “independent foreign
policy of peace,” the PLA is not free to conduct
foreign military relations on its own, as indicated by
the directly following statement that military diplomacy
“serve[s] the state’s overall diplomacy.” Evidence
suggests that, although the PLA is responsible for
managing and carrying out foreign military relations,
it is required to coordinate and consult with PRC state
and Party bureaucracies. 11 According to the PLA Encyclopedia,
military diplomacy is a “major component of
the nation’s foreign relations” that is overseen by both
the national foreign affairs apparatus and the military
leadership. 12
What Are the Goals of PLA Military Diplomacy?
PLA military diplomacy has its own subset of
objectives that fall within the overarching mandate
to further the Party-State’s broader diplomatic, economic,
and security agendas. According to the 2002
supplemental to the PLA Encyclopedia, PLA military
diplomacy has at least nine main goals:
1. To uphold national sovereignty, unity, territorial
integrity, and security;
2. To conduct military diplomatic activities that
counter Taiwan independence, promote unification,
and uphold the one-China principle;
3. To oppose imperialism, colonialism, hegemon-
ism, aggression, and expansion and to uphold world
peace;
4. To strengthen unity and cooperation with the
militaries of developing countries;
5. To pursue an independent and peaceful foreign
policy and to oppose military interventionism, gunboat
policies, and Cold War policies;
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