Improve the Socialist Military Policy Framework with Chinese Characteristics

Improve the Socialist Military Policy Framework with Chinese Characteristics* 

November 13, 2018 

The military policy framework helps shape military relations, regulate military practices, and ensure military advancement. Reform of the military policy framework is highly significant for realizing the Party's goal of building a strong military in the new era, making the people's armed forces a world-class military, and achieving the Two Centenary Goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. We need to fully appreciate the importance and urgency of this reform. To complete the task of the reform, we must develop consensus, build up confidence, take concerted actions, and implement policies to the letter.

Throughout the historical period of revolution, economic development and reform, the CPC has adapted and improved its military policy framework as times changed to meet its mission and perform the duties of the people's armed forces. These efforts have enabled the people's armed forces to maintain its nature, fulfill its mission, improve its capability to win wars, and secure continuous victories.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, as has China's endeavor to upgrade its national defense and military capabilities. So we need to conduct urgent, systematic and in-depth reform of the military policy framework to adapt to the changing conditions. We should resolve deep-seated problems in the military policy framework, enhance the performance of in-depth reform of national defense and the military, usher in a new stage in strengthening the armed forces, improve military competitiveness, and maintain a position of strength when it comes to fighting war.

To carry out the reform, we must follow the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the guiding principles of the 19th CPC National Congress, and observe the Party's philosophy on strengthening the military for the new era, so as to ensure the Party's absolute leadership over the military. The sole and fundamental criterion for judging the success of the reform is combat capability of the military, so we should keep our service personnel fully motivated. Through systematic planning, proactive design, innovative development, and overall reform, we can build a socialist military policy framework with Chinese characteristics. This framework will provide a strong guarantee for realizing the Party's goal of building a strong military in the new era and making the Chinese military world-class armed forces.

We need to further reform the organizational systems of the Party in the military. To strengthen the Party in the new era, we must observe the Party Constitution, and improve military systems for reinforcing the Party's political foundations, improving the Party's theories, organizations and conduct, and enforcing its discipline.

We need to update the policy systems for using our military forces, so as to implement our national security strategies. The military must focus on how to fight and win when it is called on. To this end, we should reform the system for strategic military guidance, develop a system of laws and regulations for joint operations, and improve the system of combat readiness. Our policy systems for deploying our military forces must be based on joint operations and ensure both combat readiness in peacetime and prompt response in wartime, and this will enable our military to complete its mission for the new era.

We need to restructure the policy systems for strengthening the military. We should design a better institutional framework for the military human resources systems. This includes establishing a career-officer system, improving the system for ensuring the wellbeing of and social security for military personnel, and improving the military-honor system. We should reform in a coordinated way our policy systems concerning military training, equipment development, logistics, research, national defense mobilization, and civil-military integration.

We need to advance reform of the policy systems for military management and create new strategic management systems. We should refine the defense expenditure system and ensure coordinated allocation of military resources. We should adopt military laws and regulations in an integrated way and enhance their codification. Our policy systems for military management must be precise, effective, comprehensive, procedure-based and mandatory, so as to improve the operations of our military and promote quality development of our armed forces.

The military must implement, as a major political responsibility, the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission on reform of the military policy framework. To fulfill the task, we must have a stronger sense of responsibility, ensure implementation, and promote reform in a more forceful and well-planned way.

A consensus must be reached within the military on the importance of the reform. We should make officers and soldiers see that the reform is of political and strategic importance and support and embrace the reform. Military officers at all levels, especially high-ranking officers, must maintain their political commitment, think in terms of the general picture, follow the core leadership of the CPC Central Committee, and act in accordance with its requirements. Our high-ranking officers must set a good example in taking a clear political stance, acting in the overall interests, observing discipline, facilitating reform, and fulfilling duties.

We should see that all military organizations fulfill their respective responsibilities. A policy framework must be put in place and implemented in accordance with their functions and assignments. We should take coordinated steps for implementation to ensure that reform advances in the direction we have set.

We should ensure the overall planning and coordination of this reform. We must speed up the introduction of some policies, prioritizing those urgently needed in carrying out reform and enhancing war preparedness and expected by military personnel.

Promoting reform of the military policy framework is a task for both the military and the civil sectors. All central Party and government departments and local Party committees and governments should concern themselves with and support the reform. They should play their part and help strengthen joint civil-military endeavors to carry out this reform.

* Main points of the speech at a meeting of the Central Military Commission on reform of the military policy framework.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)