Central Theater Command

Central Theater Command
中部战区
Founded	1 February 2016;9 years ago (2016-02-01)
Country	People's Republic of China
Allegiance	Chinese Communist Party
Type	Theater Command
Role	Command and control
Size	300,000
Part of	Central Military Commission   People's Liberation Army
Headquarters	Beijing
Motto(s)	听党指挥、能打胜仗、作风优良
Website	Official website
Commanders
Commander	General Wang Qiang
Political Commissar	General Xu Deqing
Chief of Staff	Lieutenant General Huang Xucong
Insignia
Sleeve insignia

Central Theater Command
Simplified Chinese	中部战区
Traditional Chinese	中部戰區
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngbù Zhànqū

The Central Theater Command is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army of China, ^[1] and was founded on 1 February 2016. ^[2] Its predecessors were the Beijing Military Region and Jinan Military Region. ^[3]

The International Institute for Strategic Studies attributes to the command of 300,000 personnel, consisting of three group armies 81st Group Army, 82nd Group Army, 83rd Group Army (Formerly 27th Group Army, 38th Army, and the 65th Army), two armoured divisions, one mechanised infantry division, five motorised divisions, one artillery division, three armoured, seven motorised infantry, four artillery, a total of five various anti-aircraft brigades, and one anti-tank regiment. ^[4] The command is also augmented by the PLA Beijing Garrison, which consists of the 1st Guard and the 3rd Guard Divisions, and the Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion and Color Guard Company, both of them are charged with public duties, and is also home to the PLA Navy (PLAN) North Sea Fleet and the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) 10th Air Force Corps.

In addition to guarding the capital, the CTC is the main military theater command in charge of training key personnel for leadership positions through the numerous military academies in the region.^{[ citation needed ]}

According to some sources, including the Jamestown Foundation, Air Force Wang Qiang (Chinese :王强) is the current Commander of the Central Theater Command, replacing Huang Ming (Chinese :黄铭) and the Theater's Political Commissar is General Xu Deqing (Chinese :徐德清). ^[5] Lieutenant General Huang Xucong (Chinese :黄旭聪) is the current Chief of Staff replacing Jia Jiancheng (Chinese :贾建成). ^[6]

Area of responsibility

The Central Theater Command's area of responsibility (AOR) consists of the previous Beijing Military Region, including the capital Beijing and the neighboring provinces and directly governed municipalities of Tianjin, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Hubei. ^[7]

The command's primary responsibility is the defense of the nation's capital, Beijing, and it serves as the national strategic military reserve. ^[8]

Organizational Structure

PLA Ground Forces

Regiments/Units

81st Group Army

• 7th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade
• 70th Light Combined Arms Brigade, located in Tangshan Prefecture, Hebei Province
• 162nd Motorized Infantry Division, located in Anyang Prefecture, Henan Province
• 189th Medium Combined Arms Brigade
• 194th Combined Arms Brigade
• 195th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade, located in Yutian County, Hebei Province

82nd Group Army

• 6th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade, located in Nankou Town Area, Changping District, Beijing
• 80th Medium Combined Arms Brigade
• 127th Light Mechanized Infantry Division (a.k.a. the Red Army Division), located in Luoyang Prefecture, Henan Province
• 151st Heavy Combined Arms Brigade
• 188th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade
• 196th Light Combined Arms Brigade

83rd Group Army

• 11th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade
• 58th Medium Combined Arms Brigade, located in Xuchang Prefecture, Henan Province
• 60th Medium Combined Arms Brigade, located in Minggang Town Area, Xinyang Prefecture, Henan Province
• 113th Combined Arms Brigade, located in Baoding Prefecture, Hebei Province
• 131st Combined Arms Brigade
• 193rd Medium Combined Arms Brigade, located in Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou Prefecture, Hebei Province

PLA Beijing Garrison

• 1st Guard Division, located in Haidian, Beijing
  • 3rd Guards Regiment (Heavy Infantry)
  • 4th Guards Regiment (Light Quick reaction force)
  • 5th Guards Regiment (Light Quick reaction force)
  • Central Guard Regiment
  • Honor Guard Battalion
• 3rd Guard Division, located in Tongzhou, Beijing
  • 11th Guards Regiment (showcase unit)
  • 13th Guards Regiment (special security unit)
  • Armored Regiment
  • Artillery Regiment
  • Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment
  • Support Battalion
• 17th Guard Regiment
• Reserve Unit
• Reserve Officer Training Corps
• Reserve Artillery Division, located in Huairou, Beijing
• Reserve Chemical Defense Regiment, located in Xicheng, Beijing

PLA Air Forces

Main article: Central Theater Command Air Force

List of leaders

Commanders

English name	Chinese name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Han Weiguo	韩卫国	February 2016	August 2017
Yi Xiaoguang	乙晓光	August 2017	August 2021
Lin Xiangyang	林向阳	August 2021	January 2022
Wu Yanan	吴亚男	January 2022	January 2023
Huang Ming	黄铭	January 2023	August 2024
Wang Qiang	王强	August 2024	Incumbent

Political commissars

English name	Chinese name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Yin Fanglong	殷方龙	February 2016	December 2018
Zhu Shengling	朱生岭	March 2019	January 2022
Xu Deqing	徐德清	January 2022	Incumbent

See also

• Central Theater Command Ground Force
• Central Theater Command Air Force

References

1. Zhen, Liu (January 4, 2018). "Xi Jinping calls for battle readiness as troops stage massive winter drills across China". South China Morning Post . Retrieved January 4, 2018. Dressed in a winter camouflage uniform and flanked by the other members of the supreme Central Military Commission, Xi issued the call from a military base in the Central Theatre Command, one of the country's five military zones, as troops in 4,000 sites across the country took part in simultaneous drills in the armed forces' annual new year exercises on Wednesday.
2. "President Xi announces establishment of five PLA theater commands". Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2019. A grand inauguration ceremony was held to mark the founding of the five theater commands of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Beijing on Feb. 1, 2016....and Han Weiguo and Yin Fanglong, commander and political commissar of the Central Theater Command....
3. "原七大军区调整为五大战区 北京湖北等隶属中部战区". hb.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
4. International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2006
5. "Assessment of PLA Leaders at the End of 2024". jamestown.org. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
6. Ntirenganya, Emmanuel (2024-08-10). "PHOTOS: Kagame, China's Lt Gen Huang discuss greater military cooperation". The New Times. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
7. Teo, Cheng Wee (3 Feb 2016). "Military rezoning shows China's focus is on winning wars". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Retrieved 14 June 2019. [see map graphic for list of provinces]
8. Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 7-100.3 Chinese Tactics. Washington, D.C.: Headquarters, Department of the Army (United States). 2021. p. 36. ISBN   9798457607118.