The Chinese think about military operations in ways that represent both strengths and weaknesses.
With the Chinese Communist Party as that country’s leading force, its military theory is heavily influenced by Marxist-Leninist ideology and the military thoughts of Chairman Mao Zedong. This is the main reason for which, in contrast to the West, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) theorists consider military art primarily as a science. The PLA distinguishes three components of military science (or art in Western terms): strategy, campaigns (operational art), and tactics. Within each of these are sought and developed, respectively, laws of conduct, guidance laws, and basic principles. Chinese thinkers believe that by applying the Marxist-Leninist methodology, it is possible to identify these laws of war and military affairs.
