The Central Military Commission recently issued a set of regulations to improve the work of the Communist Party of China in the armed forces.

Set for trial implementation, this is the first set of regulations to standardize the work of CPC committees in the army since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949.

The regulations provide that Party committees at various levels should work to ensure the armed forces stick to the command of the CPC Central Committee and the CPC Central Military Commission and ensure they maintain a high degree of stability and unity.

The regulations explicitly define the duties of the plenary committee, the standing committee, secretaries and members of Party committees of various levels and gives more power to the plenary committee to ensure scientific and correct decisions are made through due procedures.

Under the regulations, the plenary committee is empowered to deliberate and decide on major issues concerning the choice of officers, supervise the work and integrity of leading officers and approve major spending.

The set of regulations is in line with Party-building principles adopted at the 16th National Congress of the Party, which called for enhancing the role of the plenary committee.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2004)