The specific functional departments are the four headquarters of the People's Liberation Army (General Staff, General Political Department, General Logistics Department and General Assembly).

The military leading organ of China is the Military Commission, which can be regarded as a special sequence independent of the state administrative organs. The Ministry of National Defense is just a virtual organization set up in the State Council to facilitate foreign exchanges. Usually there is only one minister of national defense (usually a member or vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission) and one office, and there is no deputy minister or other office. It belongs to the functions of the Ministry of National Defense and is under the responsibility of the Fourth Headquarters of the Central Military Commission.

Although the Ministry of National Defense is a virtual organization, it has a high status in the State Council-the Minister of National Defense is also a State Councilor.

Many foreign countries (especially western countries) set up the Ministry of National Defense as the highest military leading organ in the government based on the principle that "the army is an integral part of state administration". In other words, national defense affairs are only a department of the government in the national system. Of course, the status of this department is also very high, and most of them are directly served by the deputy prime minister or even the prime minister, nominally the commander-in-chief of the country's highest armed forces.

Considering the reciprocity in military exchanges, China resumed the establishment of the Ministry of National Defense in the State Council in the early 1980s.

For example, the highest position of China's military personnel is the executive deputy (now Guo) rather than the defense minister Liang Guanglie.