(Adopted at the Second Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on July 1, 1988 and promulgated by Order No.5 of the President of the People’s Republic of China on July 1, 1988; amended in accordance with the Decision on the Revision of the Regulations on the Military Ranks of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army made at the Seventh Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on May 12, 1994)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Military Ranks of Officers in Active Service

Chapter III Ranks of Officers in Active Service by Virtue of Their Posts

Chapter IV Initial Conferment of Ranks on Officers in Active Service

Chapter V Promotion of the Ranks of Officers in Active Service

Chapter VI Demotion Annulment and Deprivation of the Ranks of Officers in Active Service

Chapter VII Insignias of the Ranks of Officers in Active Service

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 2 A system of military ranks to be applied to officers shall be established for the purpose of strengthening the revolutionization, modernization and regularization of the People's Liberation Army, facilitating the command and management of the Army and heightening the officers' sense of responsibility and honour.

Article 3 An officer's rank shall be the title and insignia identifying the grade and status of the officer as well as an honour granted to him by the State.

Article 4 In accordance with the nature of service, the military ranks shall be classified into ranks for officers in active service and ranks for officers in reserve service.

Article 5 An officer with a higher rank shall be the superior of an officer with a lower rank. When an officer with a higher rank is subordinated to an officer with a lower rank in terms of post, the officer holding a higher post shall be the superior.

Article 6 When an officer in active service is shifted to reserve service, his rank shall be identified as one "in reserve service". When an officer retires from military service, his rank shall be preserved and identified as "retired".

Chapter II Military Ranks of Officers in Active Service

Article 7 Officers' ranks shall be classified into the following ten grades under three categories:

(1) Generals: General, Lieutenant General, Major General;

(2) Field officers: Senior Colonel, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major; and

(3) Junior officers: Captain, Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant.

Article 8 Officers' ranks shall be differentiated as follows:

(1) Operational, political and logistics officers: General, Lieutenant General, Major General, Senior Colonel, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant.

The ranks of officers in the Navy and in the Air Force shall be identified as "Navy" and "Air Force" respectively.

(2) Specialized technical officers: Lieutenant General, Major General, Senior Colonel, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant. Their ranks shall be identified as "specialized technical".

Chapter III Ranks of officers in Active Service by Virtue of Their Post

Article 9 The People's Liberation Army shall apply a system of conferring ranks on officers by virtue of their posts.

Article 10 The Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China commands the armed forces of the country. The Central Military Commission practises a system wherein the Chairman assumes overall responsibility. No military rank shall be conferred on the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The ranks of the Vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission by virtue of their posts shall be General.

The ranks of members of the Central Military Commission by virtue of their posts shall be General.

Article 11 The ranks for operational, political and logistics officers by virtue of their posts shall be as follows:

Chief of the General Staff and Director of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army: General;

Officers at the level of commander of a major military command: General or Lieutenant General;

Officers at the level of deputy commander of a major military command: Lieutenant General or Major General;

Officers at the level of corps commander: Major General or Lieutenant General;

Officers at the level of deputy corps commander: Major General or Senior Colonel;

Officers at the level of division commander: Senior Colonel or Major General;

Officers at the level of deputy division commander (or brigade commander): Colonel or Senior Colonel;

Officers at the level of regiment commander (or deputy brigade commander): Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel;

Officers at the level of deputy regiment commander: Lieutenant Colonel or Major;

Officers at the level of battalion commander: Major or Lieutenant Colonel;

Officers at the level of deputy battalion commander: Captain or Major;

Officers at the level of company commander: Captain or Lieutenant;

Officers at the level of deputy company commander: Lieutenant or Captain; and

Officers at the level of platoon leader: Second Lieutenant or Lieutenant.

Article 12 The ranks for specialized technical officers by virtue of their posts shall be as follows:

Senior specialized technical officer: from Lieutenant General to Major;

Intermediate specialized technical officer: from Senior Colonel to Caption; and

Junior specialized technical officer: from Lieutenant Colonel to Second Lieutenant.

Chapter IV Initial Conferment of ranks on Officers in Active Service

Article 13 Military ranks shall be conferred on officers by virtue of their posts.

Article 14 Appropriate ranks shall be conferred on officers on the basis of the posts they are holding, their political integrity and professional competence, their actual performance, their contributions to the revolutionary cause and their experience in military service.

Article 15 Personnel appointed officers for the first time shall have one of the following ranks conferred on them:

(1) The rank of Second Lieutenant shall be conferred on graduates of special secondary schools of the Army;

The rank of Second Lieutenant shall be conferred on graduates of two-or three-year colleges; in accordance with the relevant regulations of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, the rank of lieutenant may be conferred on some of them;

The rank of Lieutenant shall be conferred on graduates of regular colleges; in accordance with the relevant regulations of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, the rank of Second Lieutenant may be conferred on some of them;

The rank of Captain shall be conferred on those who have a master's degree; in accordance with the relevant regulations of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, the rank of lieutenant may be conferred on some of them; the rank of Lieutenant shall conferred on those who have finished graduate courses without a Master's degree;

The rank of Major shall be conferred on those who have a doctor's degree; in accordance with the relevant regulations of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, the rank of Captain may be conferred on some of them.

(2) When enlisted men are appointed officers in wartime, appropriate ranks shall be conferred on them in accordance with the system of officers' ranks by virtue of their posts.

(3) When civilian cadres of the Army and personnel of non-military departments are appointed officers, appropriate ranks shall be conferred on them in accordance with the system of officers' ranks by virtue of their posts.

Article 16 The initial conferment of ranks on officers shall be approved in line with the limits of authority prescribed as follows:

(1) The ranks of General, Lieutenant General, Major General, Senior Colonel and Colonel shall be conferred with the approval of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission;

(2) The ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and Major shall be conferred with the approval of the head(s) of a general department of the People's Liberation Army, a major military command, one of the different services and arms, or a unit equivalent to a major military command; and

(3) The ranks of Captain, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant shall be conferred with the approval of the head(s) of a combined corps or a unit at the corps level that has the power to appoint and remove officers.

Chapter V Promotion of the Ranks of Officers in Active Service

Article 17 The promotion of the ranks of officers shall be conducted at the following intervals:

(1) In peacetime, an interval for an officer to be promoted shall be: two years for officers who are graduates of two-or three-year college or other institutions of higher learning to be promoted from Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant, three years for others without such college education to be promoted from Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant, and four years for officers to be promoted from Lieutenant to Captain, from Captain to Major, from Major to Lieutenant Colonel, from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel or from Colonel to Senior Colonel. Officers with the rank of Senior Colonel or above shall be promoted selectively on the basis of their posts, their political integrity and professional competence and their contributions to the building of national defence; and

(2) The interval for the promotion of the ranks of officers may be shortened in wartime. Specific measures shall be formulated by the Central Military Commission in the light of wartime situations.

The periods during which officers study in academies or schools shall be included in the intervals for the promotion of their ranks.

Article 18 In general, officers shall be promoted grade by grade at regular intervals.

Article 19 When, at the end of an interval for promotion, an officer is disqualified for promotion in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Central Military Commission because of his violation of military discipline, his promotion shall be deferred or he shall retire from active service.

Article 20 When an officer is appointed to a higher post while his rank is lower than the minimum rank for his new post, he shall be promoted ahead of time to the minimum rank for his new post.

Article 21 Officers who have rendered outstanding services in battle or work may be promoted in rank ahead of time.

Article 22 If an officer whose appointment as vice-chairman or a member of the Central Military Commission has been decided is to be promoted to a general, and the rank of General shall be conferred by the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Article 23 Except for the cases as provided by Article 22 of the present Regulations, promotion of officers' ranks shall be approved by the authorities with the prescribed power to appoint and remove officers. However, the promotion of ranks of the following officers shall be approved in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) An officer at the level of deputy division commander (or brigade commander) to be promoted to Senior Colonel, or a specialized technical officer is to be promoted to Senior Colonel, Major General or Lieutenant General shall be approved by the Chairman of the Central Military Commission;

(2) A specialized technical officer to be promoted to Colonel shall be approved by the head of a general department of the People's Liberation Army, of a major military command, of one of the services or arms of the Army or of a unit equivalent to a major military command; and

(3) An officer at the level of deputy battalion commander to be promoted to Major, or a specialized technical officer to be promoted to Major or Lieutenant Colonel, shall be approved by the head of a combined corps or of a unit at the corps level that has the power to appoint and remove officers.

Chapter VI Demotion, Annulment and Deprivation of the Ranks of Officers in Active Service

Article 24 If an officer is demoted to a lower post because he is disqualified or the current post while his rank is higher than the maximum rank for his hew post, his rank shall be readjusted to the maximum rank for his new post. The readjustment of his rank shall be approved by the same authority that approved his previous rank.

Article 25 An officer who violates military discipline may be punished by a demotion in rank in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Central military Commission. The demotion in his rank shall be approved by the same authority that approved the initial conferment of the rank.

Demotion in rank shall not be applied to Second Lieutenants.

Article 26 The interval for the promotion of the rank of a demoted officer shall be counted anew in accordance with the provisions for the rank to which he has been demoted.

When an officer punished by a demotion in rank has rectified his mistake and made outstanding achievements in battle or work, the interval for the promotion of his rank may be shortened.

Article 27 When an officer is removed from his post and is no longer an officer, his military rank shall be annulled. The annulment of his rank shall be approved by the same authority that approved the initial conferment of the rank.

The rank of an officer who has been deprived of his military status shall be annulled. The annulment of his rank shall be approved by the same authority that approved the deprivation of his military status.

Article 28 When an officer commits a crime and is deprived of his political rights by law or sentenced to imprisonment of three years or more, he shall be deprived of his military rank by decision of the court.

When a retired officer commits a crime, he shall be deprived of his rank in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

When an officer who has been deprived of his rank for committing a crime is required, after serving his sentence, to continue to serve in the People's Liberation Army and to be granted a military rank, the case shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of the present Regulations.

Chapter VII Insignias of the Ranks of Officers in Active Service and the Ways of Wearing Them

Article 29 Patterns of shoulder loops and insignias as well as the ways of wearing them shall be promulgated by the Central Military Commission.

Article 30 The shoulder loops and insignias worn by officers must correspond with their ranks.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Article 31 The system of ranks for officers in reserve service shall be formulated separately.

Article 32 The system of ranks for enlisted men shall be formulated by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Article 33 The Chinese People's Armed Police Force shall apply a system of ranks for armed policemen, and specific measures shall be formulated by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Article 34 The General Staff and the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army shall, in accordance with these Regulations, formulate rules for their implementation, which shall be put into effect after being submitted to and approved by the Central Military Commission.

Article 35 These Regulations shall come into force as of the date of promulgation.