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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

Has China gone into stealth mode with its military-civil fusion plans?

  • There was no apparent word in this year’s government work report of the defence strategy that has raised alarm in Washington
  • But that doesn’t mean it’s off Beijing’s radar, observers say

Reading Time:4 minutes
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Military-civil fusion is a key part of President Xi Jinping’s plans to modernise the Chinese defence system. Photo: Xinhua via AP
Matt Ho

It has been a feature of the Chinese government’s annual state-of-the-nation address to the country’s legislature since 2014.

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But this year when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered his government work report and development plan to the National People’s Congress, there was no mention of the core Chinese military modernisation policy that has alarmed Washington.

The military-civil fusion (MCF) policy is a national strategy to enlist the private sector to help modernise the country’s defences and develop cutting-edge technologies – areas that used to be the exclusive domain of state-owned military-industrial players.

The programme has attracted scrutiny from the United States over concerns that American technology could be siphoned through trade and academic exchanges to bolster Chinese military’s modernisation.

Analysts said that while the strategy may be out of sight at China’s legislative sessions this year, it is not off the radar – and Beijing may even be doubling down on it in a stealthier way.

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According to Professor Tai Ming Cheung, from the UC San Diego school of global policy and strategy, “military-civil fusion remains a top priority for the Xi regime, and perhaps even more so as China finds itself in an increasingly fierce and coupled techno-security competition with the US and its allies”.

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