# Joint Staff Department (China)

The Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission (JSDCMC) (Chinese: 中央军委联合参谋部) is the command organ and the headquarters for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), superseding the former PLA General Staff Department (GSD). It was established on 11 January 2016, under the military reforms of Central Military Commission (CMC) chairman Xi Jinping.
Headquartered in Beijing, the Joint Staff Department (JSD) is under the absolute leadership of the CMC and likely serves as an institutional link between members of the CMC and post-2016 PLA theater commands. According to the JSD, its main duties include carrying out combat support planning and combat command support, studying and formulating military strategy and requirements, organizing combat capability assessment, arranging and instructing joint training; and combat readiness and routine war preparedness work.

## Organization

Prior to the 2016 transition, the General Staff Department comprised the following bureaus:
* Combat Operations Command
* Combat Communications
* Intelligence
* Mobilization
* Electronic Warfare
* Foreign Relations
* Management
Within the present Joint Staff Department are the following bureaus:
* General Office (办公厅)
* Guard Bureau (警卫局)
* Political Work Bureau (政治工作局)
* Operations Bureau (作战局)
* Strategic Campaign Training Bureau (战略战役训练局)
* Intelligence Bureau (情报局)
* Navigation Bureau (导航局)
* Information and Communications Bureau (信息通信局)
* Battlefield Environmental Protection Bureau (战场环境保障局)
* Military Requirements Bureau (军事需求局)
The Intelligence Bureau of the Joint Staff Department, formerly the 2nd Bureau or '2PLA' under the GSD, is the most well-known bureau subordinate to the JSD for its role in espionage.

## List of chiefs

Since 2022, the Chief of Joint Staff Department is General Liu Zhenli. The current deputy chiefs are Lieutenant General Ma Yiming, and Major General Shao Yuanming. Prior to the 2016 rename, department heads were referred to as Chief of the General Staff Department.
| No. | Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
| 1 | Yu, SuSenior General Su Yu 粟裕 (1907–1984) | October 1954 | October 1958 | 4 years | PLA Ground Force |
| 2 | Kecheng, HuangSenior General Huang Kecheng 黄克诚 (1902–1986) | October 1958 | September 1959 | 11 months | PLA Ground Force |
| 3 | Ruiqing, LuoSenior General Luo Ruiqing 罗瑞卿 (1906–1978) | September 1959 | December 1965 | 6 years, 3 months | PLA Ground Force |
| 4 | Chengwu, YangGeneral Yang Chengwu 杨成武 (1914–2004) | December 1965 | March 1968 | 2 years, 3 months | PLA Ground Force |
| 5 | Yongsheng, HuangGeneral Huang Yongsheng 黄永胜 (1910–2004) | March 1968 | September 1971 | 3 years, 6 months | PLA Ground Force |
| Vacant 1971–75 |||||||
| 6 | Xiaoping, DengDeng Xiaoping 邓小平 (1904–1997) | January 1975 | March 1980 | 5 years, 2 months | PLA Ground Force |
| 7 | Dezhi, YangGeneral Yang Dezhi 杨得志 (1911–1994) | March 1980 | November 1987 | 7 years, 8 months | PLA Ground Force |
| 8 | Haotian, ChiGeneral Chi Haotian 迟浩田 (born 1929) | November 1987 | November 1992 | 5 years | PLA Ground Force |
| 9 | Wannian, ZhangGeneral Zhang Wannian 张万年 (1928–2015) | November 1992 | September 1995 | 2 years, 10 months | PLA Ground Force |
| 10 | Quanyou, FuGeneral Fu Quanyou 傅全有 (born 1930) | September 1995 | November 2002 | 7 years, 2 months | PLA Ground Force |
| 11 | Guanglie, LiangGeneral Liang Guanglie 梁光烈 (1940–2024) | November 2002 | September 2007 | 4 years, 10 months | PLA Ground Force |
| 12 | Bingde, ChenGeneral Chen Bingde 陈炳德 (born 1941) | September 2007 | October 2012 | 5 years, 1 month | PLA Ground Force |
| 13 | Fenghui, FangGeneral Fang Fenghui 房峰辉 (born 1951) | October 2012 | January 2016 | 3 years, 3 months | PLA Ground Force |
| General Staff Department is renamed to Joint Staff Department |||||||
| 14 | Fenghui, FangGeneral Fang Fenghui 房峰辉 (born 1951) | 11 January 2016 | 26 August 2017 | 1 year, 227 days | PLA Ground Force |
| 15 | Zuocheng, LiGeneral Li Zuocheng 李作成 (born 1953) | 26 August 2017 | 16 October 2022 | 5 years, 51 days | PLA Ground Force |
| 16 | Zhenli, LiuGeneral Liu Zhenli 刘振立 (born 1964) | 6 March 2023 | | 2 years, 13 days | PLA Ground Force |