China: Research Should Be Combat-Oriented

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

China has been making considerable investments to modernize its forces and become a more major player on the international scene. Its defense budget, now $145 billion, is at a record high, as reported by cbsnews.com. China’s President Xi Jinping has been calling for combat-oriented science, the acceleration of the development of modern military science, and the establishment of high-level military research institutions to support the building of a strong military.

Noting that military science was an important force in guiding military practices and spearheading transformations, Xi said research should be combat-oriented, meet the needs of the armed forces and be forward-thinking. Xi made the remarks during an inspection of the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Military Science.

He also called for better integration of military theories and technologies, research and practices, as well as military and civilian uses, according to xinhuanet.com.

When calling on several leading military scientists at the academy, Xi encouraged them to make a greater contribution to the building of a strong army. He instructed authorities to respect and take good care of experts and develop a team of high-level military researchers.

He called for innovations in military research, defense technology and the organization model of military research. “Researchers should work on an advanced theoretical framework for warfare, which fits the unique conditions of the Chinese armed forces and conforms to the rules of modern warfare, in a bid to bring the Marxist military theories in contemporary China to a new stage,” he said.

Calling for breakthroughs in core technologies, he said scientific and technological innovations should focus on the need of the war and help enhance the military’s combat capability.