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

communicates a positive and reassuring image of the
PLA. The new website came online on August 20,
2009, and there are both Chinese and English versions
of the website. Each website displays a different format,
and the content varies somewhat between the
two sites. 31 Information about PLA diplomacy can be
found on the English website in the section on “Military
Exchanges.” One can also search for examples of
military diplomacy by looking at the “Leadership”
section, which contains information about each of the
10 military leaders in the CMC. For example, the information
for Chief of the General Staff (CGS) General
Chen Bingde includes his biography plus links to
approximately 40 articles describing his travel abroad
and his meetings with visiting military delegations
since he became CGS. 32
High-level Military Exchanges. While the PLA has
markedly increased other forms of international engagement,
the number of senior officer delegations
that it sends abroad each year has remained constant
for at least the last 10 years. Visits by senior PLA leaders
are often conducted in coordination with other aspects
of the PRC’s overall diplomatic efforts.
High-level military exchanges play an important
role in PLA military diplomacy. Based on the 1998
Defense White Paper, the PLA defines foreign “highranking
military delegations” as being led by “defense
ministers, commanders of the three services, and chiefs
of the general staff.” 33 The Defense White Papers refer
only to “senior PLA delegations” without specifying
the positions of the members of each delegation. 34 According
to the 2008 Defense White Paper, the purpose of
these exchanges and other forms of cooperation is “to
create a military security environment featuring mutual
trust and mutual benefit.” 35 According to various
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