BEIJING: China needs to improve its use of defence resources such as technology, supply chain and national reserves “to strengthen its army and win wars”, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday. Xi is commander-in-chief of China’s armed forces and is due to be formally re-elected as president later this week.
Consolidating and improving “integrated strategic capabilities” is a new requirement set by the ruling Communist Party, Xi told representatives of the People’s Liberation Army and the military police during the annual session of parliament, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Wearing a Chinese suit in army green colour, he reminded the military that it must be led by the party. Xi secured a precedent-breaking third term as party chief last year. “China needs to better use defence science, technology and industry to strengthen its army and win wars,” Xi said.
He asked national laboratories to accelerate their research in defence technology so that China would not have to rely on foreign countries.
He also said industry supply chains must be more resilient and called for more infrastructure building and the setting-up of national reserves for defence purposes. Xi did not specify what the “strategic risks”, as he put it, were that the military needed to address.
Seeking more self-reliance in the face of foreign attempts at “containment and suppression”, China is planning to conduct a sweeping revamp of its science ministry and tech capabilities by pouring more resources into manufacturing and research. A restructuring document announced by China’s cabinet on Tuesday will refocus the ministry of science and technology’s resources on coordinating scientific and technological breakthroughs. The rubber-stamp parliament is expected to approve the plan t its annual national meeting – known as the “lianghui” — which wraps up on Monday.
Beijing will “optimise its management of the whole chain of science and technology innovation”, the document said, as well as set up a national data administration responsible for overseeing the digital economy. China faced “a severe situation of international scientific and technological competition alongside external containment and suppression”, said Xiao Jie, a member of China’s State Council, as he introduced the plan at a meeting of the national parliament on Tuesday.
Beijing must “better coordinate scientific and technological capabilities to overcome difficulties in key core technologies”, while also accelerating “high-level scientific and technological self-reliance”, Xiao said, according to an official readout.
Consolidating and improving “integrated strategic capabilities” is a new requirement set by the ruling Communist Party, Xi told representatives of the People’s Liberation Army and the military police during the annual session of parliament, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Wearing a Chinese suit in army green colour, he reminded the military that it must be led by the party. Xi secured a precedent-breaking third term as party chief last year. “China needs to better use defence science, technology and industry to strengthen its army and win wars,” Xi said.
He asked national laboratories to accelerate their research in defence technology so that China would not have to rely on foreign countries.
He also said industry supply chains must be more resilient and called for more infrastructure building and the setting-up of national reserves for defence purposes. Xi did not specify what the “strategic risks”, as he put it, were that the military needed to address.
Seeking more self-reliance in the face of foreign attempts at “containment and suppression”, China is planning to conduct a sweeping revamp of its science ministry and tech capabilities by pouring more resources into manufacturing and research. A restructuring document announced by China’s cabinet on Tuesday will refocus the ministry of science and technology’s resources on coordinating scientific and technological breakthroughs. The rubber-stamp parliament is expected to approve the plan t its annual national meeting – known as the “lianghui” — which wraps up on Monday.
Beijing will “optimise its management of the whole chain of science and technology innovation”, the document said, as well as set up a national data administration responsible for overseeing the digital economy. China faced “a severe situation of international scientific and technological competition alongside external containment and suppression”, said Xiao Jie, a member of China’s State Council, as he introduced the plan at a meeting of the national parliament on Tuesday.
Beijing must “better coordinate scientific and technological capabilities to overcome difficulties in key core technologies”, while also accelerating “high-level scientific and technological self-reliance”, Xiao said, according to an official readout.