The People's Republic of China military reform of 2015 was a major restructuring of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which flattened the command structure and allowed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to have more control over the military, with the aim of strengthening the combat capability of the PLA.
[3] They were expected to be long and extensive that aimed at turning the PLA into a modern military on par with international standards.
This is planned to change their concept of operations from primarily ground-oriented defense to mobile and coordinated movements of all services and to enhance offensive air and naval capabilities.
[5]: 289 On 1 February 2016, China replaced its system of seven military regions with newly-established Theater Commands: Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern, and Central.
[5]: 289 In contrast, each Theater Command is intended to function as a unified entity with joint operations across different military branches.