To build a modern army, the PLA must learn from the US says Chinese military official

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To build a modern army, the People's Liberation Army must learn from the US, says Chinese military official

Official says military must join hands with the civilian sector, just as America has done

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 11 November, 2015, 12:31am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 11 November, 2015, 2:57am

Reuters in Beijing and Jun Mai



The August 1st aerobatic team of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force put on a show in Changchun, Jilin province. Photo: Reuters

China needs to focus more on developing a military-industrial complex much like the United States has done, to ensure a powerful army in keeping with its place in the world, according to a top Chinese military official.

"China is walking towards the centre of the world stage as it gains more power. It faces increasing … challenges. National revival could be interrupted if the economy, technology and defence are not enhanced at the same time," Central Military Commission vice-chairman Xu Qiliang wrote in a collection of essays released this week.

Military-industrial complex refers to a mutually beneficial relationship between a country's military and defence-minded firms and manufacturers.

Xu's call is part of President Xi Jinping's campaign to transform the People's Liberation Army into a modern force capable of winning wars.

In the collection of essays by top cadres involved in the 13th five-year plan, Xu - in the first such explanation given by a top military official - explained at length the rationale and targets for the president's push to develop a military-industrial complex.

Many countries had already integrated civilian resources into military development, Xu wrote, and the building of national defence could bring tremendous economic and social benefits.



China needs to focus more on developing a military-industrial complex, according to a top military official. Photo: Xinhua

The idea of military-civilian integration was first raised by former president Hu Jintao when he headed the army.

"The United States' Manhattan Project and Apollo Programme and China's great undertakings such as the … Shenzhou spacecraft and Chang'e moon probe are very good examples," Xu wrote.

The US' Manhattan Project, which created the first nuclear weapons, left behind a network of national laboratories that have facilitated the studies of many Nobel Prize-winning scientists. The Apollo Programme, started by the US during the cold war to outgun the Soviets in space, also led to major technological breakthroughs, such as in telecommunications and the production of space vessel material.

Xu said military-civilian integration would ensure new opportunities for economic development in China.

The ocean, space and the internet would be China's first three fields to see such integration, he said.

Retired PLA major general Xu Guangyu said military-civilian integration was an approach that all major military powers in the world had adopted.

"The US is a prominent example, but Britain, France and Japan have all done the same. China should not be an exception," Xu Guangyu said.

He added that Xi's centralised role in the party would give him greater leverage over such development.

"Xi now heads the Central Military Commission as well as the working group to deepen overall reform. The military-civil integration is where these two fields overlap," he said.






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