Roger Cliff is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He has previously worked for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and conducted research for the RAND Corporation on China's foreign policy, military modernization efforts and defense industry. He received his PhD from Princeton University.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Doctrine; 3. Organizational structure; 4. Weaponry; 5. Personnel; 6. Training; 7. Logistics; 8. Organizational culture; 9. Scenario analysis; 10. Conclusion.

'Roger Cliff's analysis, and especially the metrics he offers for gauging the PLA, could not be timelier. As this important volume goes to print, the Chinese People's Liberation Army is poised to undergo another period of re-energized reform and modernization as a result of decisions made at the Third Plenum of the Eighteenth Central Committee. Cliff has brought a degree of rigor to the analysis of the Chinese armed forces that deserves the serious attention of all who are engaged in studying this evolving military establishment.' David M. Finkelstein, Vice President, CNA Corporation, and Director, CNA China Studies