Throughout the history of the People's Republic of China, the position that effectively reigned as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces changed from time to time. During some periods, it was not exactly clear who was the supreme commander of the People's Liberation Army.

From 1954 to 1969, the de jure Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces was the President of the People's Republic of China, who was also the Chairman of the National Defence Council. However, a similar command structure inside the communist party known as the Central Military Commission, whose Chairman was the de facto Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The CMC Chairman, Mao Zedong, who from 1954 to 1959, was PRC's 1st President. Vice-Chairs included Liu Shaoqi, who from 1959 to 1969, was PRC's second president. Even though the President was the de jure supreme commander of the military, it nonetheless was a subordinate of the CMC Chairman.

From 1969 to 1978, the head of the military was the Chairman of the Central Committee of the CPC. This gave constitutional power to the head of a party.

From 1978 onwards, the Commander-in-Chief was the Chairman of the CMC . This position, however did not always give the person entitled the top command as was the case with Hua Guofeng. Deng Xiaoping was able to effectively control the military as the Chief of Staff of the PLA from 1978-1980.

See also:

• Politics of China
• Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China
• Central Military Commission