The Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China is a ministry under the State Council. It is headed by the Minister of National Defense.

In contrast to practice in other nations, the Ministry of National Defense does not exercise authority over the People's Liberation Army (which is instead subordinate to the Central Military Commission), and its role is primarily that of a liaison office with foreign militaries. The Minister is always a military officer and usually one of the military vice-chairmen of the CMC.

Ministers

• Ye Jianying (1975-1978)
• Xu Xiangqian (1978-1981)
• Geng Biao (1981-1982)
• Zhang Aiping (1982-1988)
• Qin Jiwei (1988-1993)
• Chi Haotian (1993-2003)
• Cao Gangchuan (2003- )

See also:

• Politics of China
• Supreme Military Command of PRC