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28 October 2024

Xi’s revamped army shows China is preparing for war

Miquel Vila

Last week, while inspecting a brigade of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force, President Xi Jinping urged the group in charge of China’s nuclear capabilities to boost its readiness for battle and deterrence capabilities. Although this is not the first time that Xi has exhorted the PLA to be “ready to win wars”, the CCP leader now seems set on sending a clear signal to the West.

One reason for this is that the Rocket Force suffered a series of purges of its leadership almost a year ago. A second factor is timing. Last month, China successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile launched in the Pacific for the first time in decades, an important milestone for the same rocket Force that was rumoured to be filling missiles with water instead of fuel a few months ago.

Some have argued that the PLA corruption problems reported earlier this year weren't real, and that China has been playing a kind of 4D chess by disseminating information about its army's incompetence. Really, though, the PLA has deep-seated problems, but China is working to fix them.

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