This brief highlights key points on three Chinese government and military organizations involved in managing defense science, technology, and industry: 1) the State Council’s State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND); 2) the General Armament Department (GAD) of the People’s Liberation Army; and 3) the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s Civil–Military Integration Promotion Department (CMIPD). This brief calls attention to important ongoing organizational reforms in Chinese defense science, technology and industry by discussing 1) the post-2008 division of responsibilities between SASTIND and CMIPD; 2) GAD’s role in the defense industries and PLA defense research; and 3) civil–military integration (CMI) in the Chinese defense science, technology and industry system.

China’s military contracting and procurement system is undergoing significant changes intended to raise its professionalism, efficiency, and effectiveness. One major focus of these reforms is the Military Representative Office (MRO) system that oversees contracting and procurement under the General Armament Department (GAD). Improvements in GAD’s MRO system could raise the military’s overall effectiveness by improving quality and reducing graft and waste. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) MRO pilot program currently underway may pave the way for integrated change across the service arms and enhance GAD’s role.