The authors of this report explore Chinese military thinking about future command and control, with a specific focus on the prospect of China adopting mission command—that is, delegating some amount of decisionmaking authorities to subordinates, with the expectation that they act within preset, broad guidelines from superiors—in contrast to China’s traditional centralized command.

Mission Command with Chinese Characteristics?

Exploring Chinese Military Thinking About Command and Control in Future Warfare

Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Ivana Ke, Amanda Kerrigan, Edmund J. Burke

ResearchPublished Oct 22, 2025

As the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) focuses on preparing for a potential conflict with China as its pacing threat, it is important to understand how the Chinese military might command and control its forces in a future conflict. The authors of this report explore Chinese military thinking about future command and control, with a specific focus on the prospect of China adopting mission command—that is, delegating some amount of decisionmaking authorities to subordinates, with the expectation that they act within preset, broad guidelines from superiors—in contrast to China’s traditional centralized command.

The authors trace the rise of mission command within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and survey the benefits, as touted by PLA advocates, of mission command. They also explore how mission command might be implemented in the PLA, including some consideration by service and operational type. Additionally, they develop and analyze three alternative futures for what PLA adoption of mission command might mean for the United States. Lastly, the authors provide a survey of how the Chinese military might assess U.S.-China command advantages.

Key Findings

  • There is a strong consensus within the PLA that future warfare will place an ever-increasing burden on human decisionmakers.
  • Some PLA researchers favor mission command to empower lower levels of command for faster and more resilient decisionmaking.
  • If the PLA implements mission command, it will likely be varied and uneven across units and mission types, as the PLA has always struggled to move away from centralized command because of the Chinese government’s strong preference for political control of the military.
  • PLA adoption of mission command could worsen PLA crisis behavior because of weaker coordination and control of frontline forces by PLA senior leadership.
  • PLA adoption of mission command could reduce the effectiveness of traditional U.S. concepts of operation, because of more resilient PLA command and control and greater command autonomy.
  • Mission command is unlikely to fix all shortcomings in PLA command, providing opportunities for the joint force to influence Chinese leadership decisions on command.

Recommendations

  • DoD should monitor the PLA’s adoption of mission command.
  • DoD should carefully weigh opportunities to shape the PLA’s approach to future command.
  • DoD should ensure that future operational concepts are robust for improved Chinese command capability.
  • DoD should continue engaging with the Chinese military on crisis management to hedge against risks of unauthorized PLA actions due to its adoption of mission command.

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Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Nathan, Ivana Ke, Amanda Kerrigan, and Edmund J. Burke, Mission Command with Chinese Characteristics? Exploring Chinese Military Thinking About Command and Control in Future Warfare. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2257-1.html.
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