China’s military told to ‘resolutely do what the party asks it to do’

China’s military mouthpiece has published a lengthy article on President Xi Jinping’s ideas on the armed forces, as Beijing’s propaganda machine goes into overdrive ahead of a key gathering of the ruling Communist Party.

The article, published in PLA Daily earlier this week, told the People’s Liberation Army to follow the party’s leadership and carry out assigned tasks, regardless of how difficult and dangerous they are.

It comes less than a month before the party congress that is expected to see Xi secure an unprecedented third term in power and usher in sweeping changes at the top, including the military’s supreme command.

The article emphasised that the Central Military Commission, chaired by Xi, has overall command responsibility and must be obeyed at all times. Notably, it named several top generals purged in Xi’s campaign against corruption for trying to undermine the power and authority of the CMC chairman. Hu Jintao was the CMC chairman before Xi.

The message is being sent as the PLA is under scrutiny amid rising tensions with the United States, the world’s top military power, over Taiwan. Beijing sees the island as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to take it back.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden again said American troops would defend the self-governed island militarily if Beijing were to attack. The PLA has also stepped up drills around Taiwan after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island last month, and there have been growing calls for the military to boost combat readiness.