Strategy to Build a Strong Military Through Reform

Strategy to Build a Strong Military Through Reform

At a meeting of the Central Military Commission (CMC) on military reform on November 24, 2015, Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of implementing a reform strategy to build a strong military by taking a distinctly Chinese approach.

In response to the needs in a modern context, defense and military reform are key to building a strong military, and will shape the future of the military. The objective of reform is to modernize China’s armed forces so as to enable them to answer the call of duty and win a war in a digital age. Measures will be taken to improve the military institutional infrastructure, in order to provide a sound basis for building a world-class military. Expected results include a markedly strengthened leadership and joint operational command chain, an optimally adjusted scale and structure, an improved policy-making process, and enhanced civil-military integration.

Major areas of reform include:

• building a structure with the CMC providing overall guidance and direction, theater commands responsible for theater-level combat operations, and individual military services focused on their specialized combat capability and readiness;

• designing an effective oversight system to prevent any abuse of power;

• shifting from reliance on the size of the military to a focus on quality and efficiency;

• identifying and tapping new potential for warfare capability improvement and force multiplication;

• pursuing institutional reform and policy innovation in talent and human resources development; and

• integrating economic development with defense needs.

改革强军战略

2015年11月24日，习近平在中央军委改革工作会议上提出全面实施改革强军战略，坚定不移走中国特色强军之路的要求。深化国防和军队改革，是实现中国梦强军梦的时代要求，是强军兴军的必由之路，也是决定军队未来的关键一招。改革的目标就是构建能够打赢信息化战争、有效履行使命任务的中国特色现代军事力量体系，使中国特色社会主义军事制度更加成熟、更加定型，为实现强军目标、建设世界一流军队打下更为扎实的前进基础。改革的成果标志，就是在领导管理体制、联合作战指挥体制改革上取得突破性进展，在优化规模结构和力量编成、完善政策制度、推动军民融合发展等方面的改革上取得重要成果。改革的六方面举措包括：一是形成军委管总、战区主战、军种主建的格局；二是构建严密的权力运行制约和监督体系；三是推动人民解放军由数量规模型向质量效能型转变；四是培育军队战斗力新的增长点；五是推动人才发展体制改革和政策创新；六是推动经济建设和国防建设融合发展。