Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Enters a New Era

Section 2: Continuously open up a new situation of strengthening the army and rejuvenating the army

A strong country must strengthen its military. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Comrade Xi Jinping has focused on realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, closely focusing on what kind of strong people’s army to build in the new era and how to build a strong people’s army, forming Xi Jinping Thought on strengthening the army. Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Army clarifies a series of fundamental directional, overall and major issues in national defense and army building in the new era, opens up the road to strengthening the army with Chinese characteristics, and creates a new situation of strengthening the army and rejuvenating the army.

1. Build a people’s army that obeys the command of the party and has a good style of winning battles

Clearly defining the goal of army building is a successful experience of the CPC in building and managing the army. In various historical periods, in accordance with changes in the situation and tasks, the Party has clearly put forward the goals and requirements for the building and development of the people’s army, leading the continuous development of the building of our army. Comrade Mao Zedong led the formulation of the general principle of building an excellent modern revolutionary army, Comrade Deng Xiaoping put forward the general goal of building a powerful modernized and regularized revolutionary army, and Comrade Jiang Zemin put forward the general requirements for army building that is politically qualified, competent in military affairs, excellent in work style, strict in discipline, and effective in guarantees. Comrade Hu Jintao put forward the important idea of strengthening the comprehensive building of the armed forces in accordance with the principle of combining revolutionization, modernization, and regularization, profoundly revealed the objective law governing army building, and guided our army to continuously win new victories from small to large and from weak to strong.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has focused on realizing the “two centenary goals” and realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, adhered to and developed Marxist military theory, and established the principle of “building a team that obeys the command of the Party and can win battles, The goal of strengthening the people’s army with a good work style” has issued the call of the times to “build the people’s army into a world-class army in an all-round way.”

Answering the major questions of why to strengthen the army, what is the goal of strengthening the army, and how to take the road of strengthening the army with Chinese characteristics is the general strategy of the CPC for building and managing the army in the new era, and provides fundamental guidance for promoting national defense and army building at a new starting point. Obeying the party’s command is the soul and determines the political direction of army building. Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out that obeying the command of the party is the primary task of our army construction and the lifeblood of our army. If this one is lost, no matter how other work is done, it will eventually be completely lost. The key to our army’s invincibility and ultimate victory over all enemies without being overwhelmed by the enemy lies in resolutely obeying the command of the party, which is the soul of army building and strengthening the army. This is the fundamental magic weapon for the party’s long-term ruling power and the country’s long-term peace and stability, and it is also the point that all enemies fear us the most. Under the new situation, we must firmly obey the party’s command, which is the soul of strengthening the army; persist in building and mastering the troops ideologically and politically, unswervingly adhere to the fundamental principle and system of the party’s absolute leadership over the army, conscientiously implement the responsibility system of the chairman of the Central Military Commission, and resolutely maintain consistency, safeguard authority, and obey commands at all times and under all circumstances, and ensure the absolute loyalty, absolute purity, and absolute reliability of the troops. Being able to win battles is the core, reflecting the fundamental functions of the army and the fundamental orientation of army building. The army is first and foremost a combat team, and it must persist in focusing all construction and work on winning battles. If the army cannot win on the battlefield, it will produce serious political backlash. As the saying goes, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. Our army has always been known for its ability to fight good battles and has created many brilliant achievements. However, the standard of ability to win wars is constantly changing with the development of war practice, and being able to win a war in the past does not mean that you can win a war now. Judging from the situation of the army’s modernization construction and the fulfillment of the tasks of preparing for military struggle in recent years, the problem of our army’s insufficient ability to fight a modern war and the insufficient ability of cadres at all levels to command a modern war have not yet been completely resolved. Under the new situation, we must grasp the key to being able to fight and win wars, firmly establish combat effectiveness as the only fundamental criterion, more firmly and consciously grasp the preparation for war and plan to win, carry forward our army’s fearless heroic spirit and heroic and tenacious fighting style, enhance our army’s deterrence and actual combat capability under the conditions of informationization, and ensure that it can fight when called upon, and win when it is called. A good work style is a guarantee and has a bearing on the nature, purpose, and true colors of the military. Only with a good style can a heroic army be shaped, and a loose style can bring down a division that wins often.

In long-term practice, our army has cultivated and formed a whole set of glorious traditions and fine work styles, which are the distinctive characteristics and political advantages of the people’s army. Whether or not we can maintain the glorious traditions and fine work style of our party and our army has a bearing on the survival of the army, on the success or failure of the cause of the party and the country, and on the fact that the red rivers and mountains of socialism will never change color. In the new era, we must consolidate the foundation of a strong army of managing the army according to law and administering the army strictly, regard the building of work style as a basic and long- term task of the army, pay close attention to it, adhere to the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, carry forward the spirit of arduous struggle, forge iron discipline, purify the atmosphere of the army, consolidate and develop good internal and external relations, and ensure that our army’s bloodline is forever, its foundation is solid, and its superiority is eternal. The goal of strengthening the army, which obeys the party’s command, can win battles, and has a good work style, is consistent with the party’s consistent guiding ideology and principles for building and managing the army, and is consistent with the comprehensive construction thinking that is unified with revolutionization, modernization, and regularization. Obedience to the party’s command, ability to win battles, and excellent work style are interrelated and inseparable, and are unified in the great practice of building a strong people’s army.