People's Liberation Army Cyberspace Force

The People's Liberation Army Cyberspace Force is an arm of the People's Liberation Army. It was established on 19 April 2024, followed by the dissolution of the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF). The Cyberspace Force received the functions of the former PLASSF's Network Systems Department.

People's Liberation Army Cyberspace Force
中国人民解放军网络空间部队
Founded	19 April 2024; 17 months ago (2024-04-19)
Country	People's Republic of China
Allegiance	Chinese Communist Party
Type	Cyber force
Role	Cyberwarfare
Part of	People's Liberation Army
Commanders
Commander	Lieutenant General Zhang Minghua [zh]
Political Commissar	Lieutenant General Han Xiaodong [zh]
Insignia
Symbol
Flag
Sleeve badge

History

The Cyberspace Force was established on 19 April 2024 following as one of the new successor branches which followed the dissolution of the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF).^{[1][2]: 226} The Cyberspace Force has the functions of the former PLASSF Network Systems Department.^[2]: 226 The other new branches created were the PLA Aerospace Force and the PLA Information Support Force.^[2]: 226

At the creation of the Cyberspace Force, the Ministry of National Defense stated in relation to its role that "developing the Cyberspace Force and cyber security and defense means are important for reinforcing national cyber border defense, promptly detecting and countering network intrusions and maintaining national cyber sovereignty and information security."^[2]: 226

The Cyberspace Force operates five Technical Reconnaissance Bases that align with the PLA's five theater commands.^[1] The force's Cyberspace Operations Base oversees the country's offensive cyberwarfare, psychological warfare, and advanced cybersecurity research.^[1]

Organizational Structure

The Cyberspace Force is broken down into the General Staff Department, and the Political Work Department. Below these two departments is the following breakdown:

Logistics Department

Unit 32047 is part of the Logistics Department.

Equipment Department

The Equipment Department is broken down into seven local military representative offices located in:

• Shanghai
• Tianjin
• Nanjing
• Chengdu
• Guangzhou
• Shenzhen
• Wuhan

Bureaus

There are also two bureaus under the Cyberspace Force: the Network Bureau, and the Information Bureau.

PLA Information Engineering University

The PLA Information Engineering University (IEU) is the PLA's research institute for the study of information warfare.

Leadership

Commander

• Zhang Minghua (April 2024 – present)

Political Commissar

• Han Xiaodong (April 2024 – present)

Ranks

Officer ranks

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
PLA Cyberspace Force v t e
			上将 Shàngjiàng		中将 Zhōngjiàng		少将 Shàojiàng				大校 Dàxiào	上校 Shàngxiào	中校 Zhōngxiào		少校 Shàoxiào		上尉 Shàngwèi		中尉 Zhōngwèi			少尉 Shàowèi

Enlisted and NCO ranks

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
PLA Cyberspace Force v t e
	一级军士长 Yījí jūnshìzhǎng			二级军士长 Èrjí jūnshìzhǎng			三级军士长 Sānjí jūnshìzhǎng		四级军士长 Sìjí jūnshìzhǎng		上士 Shàngshì						中士 Zhōngshì						下士 Xiàshì						上等兵 Shàngděngbīng						列兵 Lièbīng

See also

• Cyberwarfare by China