Chinese president Xi Jinping vowed on Sunday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), China’s military, would be brought to “world-class standards” within five years, setting it on a more level playing field with the United States in time to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1927.
In his opening remarks for the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress in Beijing, Xi claimed that his government would devote further effort to training its troops and attempting to accurately simulate combat conditions. He also noted the political nature of the PLA’s mission and the role of the ruling Communist Party in its efforts to grow stronger.
“We will strengthen Party building across the board in the people’s armed forces to ensure that they always obey the Party’s command,” Xi said, outlining the creation of several new groups within the military tasked with rooting out corruption and enhancing discipline. The Chinese leader emphasized that the strength of the military was the “bedrock of ‘national rejuvenation,’” using a phrase that Beijing has repeated in recent years to refer to China’s future ambitions.
The People’s Liberation Army has an estimated two million soldiers on active duty, making it the largest army in the world by far. However, it is usually regarded as secondary in strength to that of the United States, which has a defense budget that is two to three times larger. The military’s effectiveness has also been hampered by China’s longstanding one-child policy, which has led to a shortage of young men eligible for military service and prompted many families to discourage their sons from enlisting in favor of more profitable or respected professions. Xi did not provide any additional details on the PLA’s future funding or recruitment efforts in his remarks.
Politically, Xi insisted that the purpose of the military was solely to protect China’s national security, claiming that his government rejected power politics and would pursue “positive interaction” with other nations. However, Xi pointedly claimed in his address that China would continue to work towards the re-incorporation of Taiwan by “all measures necessary,” vowing that his government would “never promise to renounce the use of force” to retake the island.
In response to Xi’s remarks, the office of Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen—the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party, which favors a formal declaration of Taiwan’s independence—issued a statement noting that the overwhelming majority of Taiwanese citizens opposed the island’s annexation by China. However, the presidency’s statement insisted that Tsai’s government would continue to seek a “mutually acceptable way to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
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