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When Jiang Zemin was appointed as Party general secretary in 1989 few analysts believed that he was likely to establish full authority over the People's Liberation Army (PLA), given his total lack of experience with the armed forces. A decade later, Jiang is the most powerful political figure in China, owing in part to his congenial relations with the military. Indeed, the PLA can be considered Jiang's primary power base, and he has made use of its support to consolidate his position within the Party.

Jiang's interaction with the PLA has brought a new dimension to the study of China's elite politics. Some fundamental questions can be asked. Has his success with the PLA been based on his own personal endeavour or has it more generally been due to the institutionalization of elite politics? Does Jiang's example provide any clues that would enable us to divine his successor's future relationship with the PLA? l