President Xi Jinping will as soon as this month announce the most sweeping overhaul of the Chinese military in at least three decades, moving it closer to a U.S.-style joint command structure, sources said.
The blueprint would unify the army, navy, air force and strategic missile corps under one command, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the proposal hasn't been released. The plans call for thinning the ranks of officers and traditional ground forces, helping elevate the role of the navy and air force, to better project force in a modern conflict, they said.
It would also consolidate the country's seven military regions to as few as four, one of the sources said.