The 1999 edition serves as a major reference for students, specialists on China, and non-specialists seeking specific information on the PLA. However, it is 25 years old. Since its publication China has revised twice the organization of the PLA, the composition of its Central Military Commission (CMC), and has undergone a number of disasters in which the PLA did not perform well. A near attempt to remove the current president and CMC chairman Xi Jinping from power was stopped. Many senior PLA officers have been removed for corruption because Xi felt threatened by them. And the PLA has begun to become a global power with a lead over the USA in space, many forms of new weapons, and in cyberspace.

Larry M. Wortzel is senior fellow in Asian security at the American Foreign Policy Council. He is a retired US Army colonel. He is the author of Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History and other books on China and Asia.