In the People's Republic of China (PRC), supreme command of the armed forces is exercised by the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
[1] Since the 2000s, the CCP General Secretary chairs the CMC, and represents the armed forces in the Politburo Standing Committee, the country's ruling body.
The 1954 PRC constitution designated the president as the supreme commander, and also as the chair of the National Defense Council (NDC).
[4] The relationship between the CMCs and various state and party bodies can make the exercise of supreme command legally ambiguous.
The ambiguity may have caused the CCP's regular demands for loyalty from the armed forces since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.