Unpacking Recent Developments in the Chinese Military: What's Happening within the PLA?

Please join the CSIS China Power Project on October 31st from 9:00 am - 10:00 am EDT for a virtual panel discussion on significant developments within the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). There have been several surprising occurrences within the PLA in recent months, including the disappearance of Defense Minister Li Shangfu from public view, as well as the sudden removal of three top generals from the PLA Rocket Force, which controls China’s nuclear and conventional missiles forces. There has also been unsubstantiated reporting about a deadly accident involving a PLA Navy nuclear-powered submarine. Speculation abounds regarding the details and causes of these developments. What are the implications of these internal dynamics on PLA modernization, operations, and activities? How might this impact U.S.-China relations as well as China’s relations with its neighbors? 

Joining us to unpack these questions are three leading analysts of the PLA; Mr. Roderick Lee, director of research at the Air University’s China Aerospace Studies Institute; Dr. Shen Ming-Shih, research fellow and director of the Division of National Security Research and acting deputy chief executive officer at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan; and Dr. Joel Wuthnow, senior research fellow at the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs within the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. 

Dr. Bonny Lin, director of the China Power Project and senior fellow for Asian Security at CSIS, will moderate the discussion.

This event is made possible by the generous support of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States.