A New Direction in the People's Liberation Army's Emergent Strategic Thinking, Roles and Missions

• Published in: The China quarterly (London) 2017-12, Vol.232, p.841-865
• Main Authors: Char, James, Bitzinger, Richard A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Armed forces; Army; Chinese languages; Coercion; Communism; Communist parties; Corruption; Councils; Diplomacy; Emancipation; Foreign language learning; Foreign policy; National security; Peace; Political leadership; Political power; Power; Presidents; Roles; Special section: The People's Liberation Army in the Xi Jinping Era; Transformation; Xi Jinping
• ISSN: 0305-7410; 1468-2648
• DOI: 10.1017/S030574101700128X

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been undergoing a profound transformation in terms of its operational capabilities, both with regard to its hardware as well as its heartware, i.e. the softer aspects of its development including its operational culture and military ethos. These changes have permeated every facet of the PLA – technological, organizational and doctrinal. Despite successive generations of Chinese leaders having declared their adherence to “peace” and “development,” it has become clearer that Beijing's security policy under Xi Jinping has shifted steadily away from “keeping a low profile.” In that regard, the status of the PLA in the domestic and international calculus of China's new commander-in-chief has, unsurprisingly, become more pronounced, with Xi taking noticeably greater interest in harnessing the Chinese Communist Party's coercive forces as his personal domestic powerbase and foreign policy instrument complementing China's hard economic power. 中国人民解放军的实力在硬件及 “心” 件方面, 正在经历着巨大的变革。这些变化已渗透军队各个方面, 包括技术、组织、及军事行动上的教义。尽管中国几代领导人宣称维持 “和平” 与 “发展”, 中国安全策略在习近平领导下的转向明显逐步疏离 “韬光养晦”。在新形势下, 解放军在中国内政与外交的战略地位也变得更加显明。