China military: Xi Jinping stresses need for hi-tech training for troops
- The People’s Liberation Army must develop ‘an elite force that is capable of fighting and winning wars’, he says as military begins this year’s exercises
- Multiple hotspots will require the PLA to develop a combination of strategies and capabilities for different circumstances, analysts say
Xi, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the top command body of the PLA, ordered that the military “must grasp the changing landscapes of national security and combat circumstances accurately and follow the evolution of technology, warfare and rivals closely”, as China’s armed forces started this year’s training and exercises.
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In a brief two-paragraph order, Xi also directed the armed forces to double their efforts to “better combine training with combat operations” as well as strengthen systematic training and the use of technologies to develop “an elite force that is capable of fighting and winning wars”, according to state news agency Xinhua.
This is the fourth time Xi has signed such an mobilisation order as the top commander of the PLA since the CMC issued a regulation governing military training in 2018 to improve the PLA’s readiness by focusing on actual combat requirements.
Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has carried out aggressive reforms of the military, including reorganisation of its command structures, army consolidation, and increased funding for the navy, air force and rocket division to strengthen China’s strategic outreach capability.
Xi’s latest order did not elaborate on the changes facing China’s national security and combat circumstances, but last year the PLA stepped up exercises and fly-by operations targeting Taiwan, as its navy continued to counter US Navy patrols in the South China Sea, and tensions between Beijing and Washington continued to rise.
