China will bring its paramilitary police force, the People’s Armed Police, under the control of the Central Military Commission which controls the country’s armed forces from Jan. 1, state media said on Wednesday.
Since taking power five years ago, President Xi Jinping has overseen a sweeping modernization of the People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest military, laying off troops, streamlining its organization and investing in advanced weapons.
In a brief report, the official Xinhua news agency said that from midnight on Jan. 1 the People’s Armed Police would no longer fall under the purview of the State Council, or cabinet, and instead report to the Central Military Commission.
Xi heads the Central Military Commission in his role as armed forces chief and commander in chief. Xi has steadily consolidated his power over the military, and has appointed allies to key positions of power in the armed forces.
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