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Chinese President Xi Jinping calls for greater focus on military development
- Xi tells Politburo study session that country needs to ‘make preparations for military struggle’
- Comments come ahead of an important PLA anniversary and at a time when China is facing a growing security threat on its border with Afghanistan
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Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a greater focus on national defence and the military in a speech given on the eve of an important military anniversary and as the nation faces a growing range of security risks.
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After giving a spirited speech on the achievements of China’s Communist Party during its centennial celebrations earlier this month, Xi said on Friday: “On the path of completely building a modern socialist country and realising the second centennial goal, national defence and the military must be placed in a more important position, and the consolidation of national defence and a strong military must be accelerated.
“We must persist in strengthening the overall planning of war and make preparations for military struggle.”
Xi’s comments on the military’s development were made two days before the PLA’s 94th anniversary and come at a time when China is facing heightened security risks.
On China’s western borders, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan has led to a resurgence of the Taliban and instability in the region, which Beijing fears could give Uygur separatists a base from which to conduct attacks in the Xinjiang region.
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