People's Liberation Army General Armaments Department (GAD; ) was founded in April 1998 and is in charge of equipping and arming the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

, as well as overseeing and improving military technology. It is one of the four "general departments" that fall under the Central Military Commission. Various space launch sites across the country also fall under its jurisdiction. The department was disbanded in January 2016 and the new agency,

Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission The Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission () is the chief organ under the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China. It was founded on January 11, 2016, under Xi Jinping's military reforms. The ...

is founded.

Structure

Director *General

Zhang Youxia Zhang Youxia (; born July 1950) is a general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China and currently the second-ranked Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Central Military Commission (CMC). He previously served as Head ...

(since October 2012) Deputy Directors *Lt. General Liu Guozhi (Since December 2010) *Lt. General

Zhang Yulin Zhang Yulin (; born January 1958) is an Astronautics, astronautic engineer and lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. He has been Deputy Director of the PLA General Armaments Department since 2011, and previously serve ...

(Since 2011) *Lt. General Niu Hongguang (Since July 2009) *Lt. General Liu Sheng (Since May 2012) *Lt. General Wang Li Political Commissar *General

Wang Hongyao Wang Hongyao (; born November 1951) is a retired general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). He served as Political Commissar of the PLA General Armaments Department, and its successor organization, the Equipment Development Depart ...

(since July 2011) Deputy Political Commissar *Lt. General Chai Shaoliang (December 2014) Discipline Inspection Department Directly Subordinated Organs Work Department *Liaison Department *Organization Department *Propaganda Department *Security Department

Human spaceflight

The

human spaceflight Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

effort of the PRC is conducted by the

China Manned Space Engineering Office China Manned Space Agency or CMSA () is an agency of the People's Republic of China responsible for the administration of China Manned Space Program, the Chinese human spaceflight program. Name The native name of the organization (') was i ...

, which is a special department within the General Armaments Department.

References

{{People's Liberation Army People's Liberation Army