# People's Liberation Army **The People's Liberation Army (PLA)** is the armed forces of the People's Republic of China. A structural point that is frequently missed in American commentary: the PLA is constitutionally the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party rather than of the Chinese state, which is why its loyalty is described in party terms and why civil-military comparisons with Western forces mislead. ## See Also - [[China]] - [[Chinese Influence]] - [[Taiwan]]