The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China brilliantly summarized the great achievements and theoretical creation of the Supreme Leader Chairman in leading and strengthening the army, and clearly put forward the thought of the Supreme Leader in strengthening the army, which provided fundamental guidance and scientific guidance for realizing the party’s goal of strengthening the army in the new era and building the people’s army into a world-class army in an all-round way. Firmly establishing the guiding position of the supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army in national defense and army building is of great practical significance and far-reaching historical significance for unswervingly taking the road of strengthening the army with China characteristics and comprehensively promoting the modernization of national defense and the army.
First, the supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army is the precious crystallization and fundamental guidance of the great military practice since the 18th CPC National Congress.
Time is the mother of thought and practice is the source of theory. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core has focused on realizing the goal of "two hundred years" and the Chinese dream of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, based on the overall situation of national security and development strategy, adhered to and developed Marxist military theory, made a series of important expositions around national defense and army building, established the party’s goal of strengthening the army in the new era, made it clear that the people’s army should be built into a world-class army, laid out strategic measures to strengthen the army, and made every effort to promote national defense and army building. After five years of hard work, the party’s military theory innovation and military practice creation have developed simultaneously, the supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army has been enriched and sublimated in the practice of strengthening the army, and the cause of strengthening the army has made great strides under the guidance of the supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army.
To adapt to the requirements of the era of strengthening the country and the army, we will deepen reform and revolutionize the organizational structure and strength system of the people’s army. The determination and will of party leaders and army commanders is the decisive factor and strong guarantee for reform. President Xi regards deepening the reform of national defense and the army as a key measure to determine the future of the army, personally leads, designs and promotes the reform, and opens up the road of strengthening the army through reform with China characteristics. The depth and breadth of this national defense and military reform has never been seen since the founding of New China. Our army has broken the long-standing headquarters system, the military region system and the continental army system, formed a new pattern in which the military commission is in charge of the general, the main battle of the theater and the main construction of the military service, adjusted and formed 15 functional departments of five major theaters, five major arms and services, and the military commission organs, and achieved historic changes in the leadership and command system. The number of military personnel was reduced by 300,000, the proportion of arms and services was adjusted, the modern joint logistics support force was built, and the reform of the armed police force was deployed, and the size structure and strength of the force were optimized. Deepen the reform of military academies, scientific research institutions and training institutions, and build a new military talent training system with trinity of military academy education, military training practice and military vocational education. Adhere to the parallel transformation, promote the "three transformations" of functions, styles and working methods, and improve laws, regulations and policy mechanisms, which provide a strong guarantee for the operation of the new system. Through great changes and remolding, the people’s army has a new system, a new structure, a new pattern and a new look.
Focusing on winning battles, strengthening training and preparing for war, and making great progress in military struggle preparation. Being able to fight and win the battle is the fundamental value of the army. In the past five years, President Xi’s theory and practice of leading military struggle have yielded fruitful results, and the military capability of our army has made a qualitative leap. Formulate military strategic guidelines under the new situation, lead our army to forge ahead and take the initiative to shape, and expand and upgrade the construction and application of military forces. Establish the standard of combat effectiveness, pay great attention to actual combat military training, pay great attention to the cultivation of fighting spirit, pay great attention to joint operations and the cultivation of new military talents, and build joint logistics and war logistics to bring our army’s training and preparation to a new level. Decision-making and implementation of the strategy of rejuvenating the army through science and technology, construction of integration of defense and civilian technologies’s innovation system, establishment of "innovation special zone" for national defense science and technology, development of high-tech weapons and equipment, acceleration of the transformation of national defense science and technology and weapons and equipment construction from following and running to running and leading, and undocking and launching of aircraft carriers independently designed and built by China. 20. Yun — 20 and other advanced weapons and equipment are installed in the army, and a number of key technologies such as Tianhe-2 supercomputer and Beidou-2 satellite project have achieved major breakthroughs. In particular, the CPC Central Committee and President Xi led and directed a series of major military actions, carried out the struggle to safeguard the rights of the Diaoyu Islands, designated the East China Sea air defense identification zone, organized the normal cruise of the island chain by air and sea forces, carried out emergency rescue and disaster relief, international peacekeeping, carried out overseas escort and evacuation operations, established Djibouti’s overseas security base, strengthened border control, and maintained stability against terrorism, which effectively safeguarded national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and boosted national prestige.Enhanced national self-confidence and pride.
Focusing on maintaining the true colors of the people’s army, maintaining discipline and enforcing the rule of law, the people’s army has been reborn. Excellent style is the natural style of a heroic army, and its loose style seriously deviates from the true image of the people’s army. In view of the outstanding problems in the ideals and beliefs, party spirit, revolutionary spirit, organizational discipline and ideological style of the troops, especially leading cadres in a period, President Xi and the Military Commission have firmly grasped the principle of strictly administering the party and the army in an all-round way, from formulating ten provisions for strengthening the work style of the Military Commission to fully implementing the Code and Regulations, and tightening the system cage, from practicing the mass line, "three strictness and three realities" to "two studies and one work". From reorganizing thoughts, reorganizing personnel, reorganizing organizations, and reorganizing disciplines to "eight special clean-ups and rectifications", stopping paid military services in an all-round way, achieving full coverage of inspections, eliminating accumulated abuses step by step, and cleaning up the roots, the fresh air and righteousness of the troops are constantly rising. With tenacious will and quality, we will rectify the wind and discipline, fight corruption and punish evil, seriously investigate and deal with a number of serious cases of violation of discipline and law by senior cadres, vigorously correct unhealthy practices that have occurred around officers and men, maintain a high-pressure situation, and compact the "two responsibility". The army’s party style and clean government building and the anti-corruption struggle have achieved significant phased results. Follow closely the process of comprehensively administering the country according to law, increase the intensity of administering the army according to law and strictly administering the military, formulate and issue the Decision on Deepening the Administration of the Army according to Law and Strictly Administering the Army under the New Situation, and accelerate the construction of a military rule of law system with China characteristics.We will improve the work pattern of discipline inspection, inspection, judicature and audit supervision, strengthen the enforcement of laws and regulations, and promote a fundamental change in the way our army manages the army.
After five years of hard work, the foundation of a strong army has been laid. Our army has reshaped its political ecology, organizational form, strength system and style image from the inside out, and the people’s army has taken firm steps on the road of strengthening the army with China characteristics. The achievement of these historic changes and achievements lies in the strong leadership of President Xi and the scientific guidance of the supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army. The supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army leads the practice of strengthening the army, sublimates it into the practice of strengthening the army, and condenses President Xi’s innovation and creation in building and managing the army. It has and will continue to guide our army to strive to open up a new era of strengthening the army. Practice shows that we must unswervingly hold high the banner of the supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army along the road of strengthening the army with China characteristics pioneered by President Xi.
Second, deeply understand and grasp the rich connotation and great guiding significance of the supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army
As the core of the CPC Central Committee, the whole Party and the army commander, President Xi made profound thinking and strategic planning on national defense and army building with the great theoretical courage and strategic wisdom of Marxist politicians in the extraordinary journey of leading the whole Party, the whole army and the people of all nationalities in the country to carry out great struggles, build great projects, advance great undertakings and realize great dreams, and put forward a series of new ideas, new ideas, new judgments and new requirements, forming a profound and profound scientific ideological system. As an important part of the supreme leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, the thought of strengthening the army at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China incorporated the absolute leadership of the party over the people’s army into the basic strategy of upholding and developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and comprehensively deployed the cause of strengthening the army in the new era, which marked that the party’s military guiding theory kept pace with the times.
The supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army profoundly answered the basic questions in the new era, such as "Who is the command of the people’s army, how to build a strong army", "Why and how to strengthen the army" and "What battles to fight and how to win the battle", which enriched and developed our thoughts and principles of building the army and managing the army and guided the new journey of strengthening the people’s army. It is pointed out that building a people’s army that listens to the party’s command, can win battles and has a good style of work is a strategic support for achieving the goal of "two hundred years" and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It emphasizes adhering to the overall concept of national security, and the people’s army must resolutely safeguard the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s leadership and China’s socialist system, safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and safeguard regional and world peace, further clarifying the position and role of national defense and army building in building a socialist modern power in an all-round way, and expanding and stipulating our army. It is proposed to unswervingly follow the road of strengthening the army with China characteristics, realize the party’s goal of strengthening the army in the new era, build the people’s army into a world-class army, further clarify the goal of fully realizing national defense and military modernization, and clearly establish the theme of the times in army building. Put forward the innovative military strategic guidance of advancing with the times, emphasize the thorough implementation of the military strategic policy under the new situation, adhere to the strategic thinking of active defense, improve the joint combat capability and global combat capability based on the network information system, effectively shape the situation, control the crisis, contain the war and win the war.Set up a general program to take charge of the construction and application of military forces; Emphasis is placed on paying more attention to actual combat, innovation-driven, system construction, intensive and efficient, and integration of defense and civilian technologies, strengthening the traction of operational needs, increasing the contribution rate of innovation to combat effectiveness, comprehensively improving the system capabilities of our army, improving the development accuracy of national defense and the army, promoting the coordinated, balanced and compatible development of economic construction and national defense construction, and further clarifying the strategic guidance for the development of army construction. It is pointed out that building the army politically, reforming and strengthening the army, developing the army through science and technology, and managing the army according to law are the foundation of building the army. It is necessary to uphold the party’s absolute leadership over the army and strengthen and improve the political work of our army under the new situation. The most important thing is to establish four fundamental things: ideals and beliefs, party spirit principles, combat effectiveness standards and political work prestige. It is emphasized that reform is the only way to strengthen the army, and efforts must be made to solve the institutional obstacles, structural contradictions and policy problems that restrict national defense and army building, build a powerful modern army, navy, air force, rocket army and strategic support force, build a joint operational command organization that is absolutely loyal, good at fighting, efficient in command and dare to win, accelerate the construction of a modern military force system with China characteristics, and improve and develop Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s military system; Emphasizing that scientific and technological innovation is the core drive, we must adhere to the strategic basis of independent innovation, improve the contribution rate of scientific and technological innovation to army building and combat effectiveness, and build an innovative people’s army; It is emphasized that the rule of law is the foundation of strengthening the army, and it is necessary to strengthen the belief and thinking of the whole army in the rule of law.Building a military rule of law system with China characteristics and changing the way of running the army according to the requirements of the rule of law have further defined the key areas, main attack directions and strategic grasp points of army building, and scientifically established the strategic layout of strengthening and rejuvenating the army. It is pointed out that the army should focus on being able to fight and win battles, strengthen training and prepare for war, emphasize the only fundamental standard of firmly establishing combat effectiveness, vigorously improve the actual combat level of military training, build all logistics for fighting, build a weapon and equipment system that meets the requirements of information warfare and fulfilling missions, strengthen the construction of high-quality new military talents with emphasis on joint operational command talents, and ensure that troops can fight at the call of the moment and win the battle, which further clarifies the fundamental direction of army building and forms a focus on fighting. It is proposed to further promote the development of integration of defense and civilian technologies, emphasizing that integration of defense and civilian technologies is a national strategy, which is not only a move to rejuvenate the country but also a strategy to strengthen the army, forming a deep development pattern of integration of defense and civilian technologies, building an integrated national strategic system and capability, and further clarifying the important way to achieve the unification of development and security, and enriching the country and strengthening the army. It is put forward that building a modern armed police force emphasizes that loyalty to the party is always the first political requirement, and we must resolutely obey the command of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission at any time and under any circumstances, strive to improve the ability to carry out diversified tasks, constantly improve the defensive combat capability under the conditions of informationization, and keep the nature, true colors and style of the armed police force forever, further clarifying the eternal topic and requirements of the times for the construction of the armed police force.Put forward a comprehensive grasp of dialectical materialism and historical materialism world outlook and methodology, and strengthen strategic thinking, dialectical thinking, innovative thinking and bottom line thinking; Emphasis is placed on correctly understanding and grasping dialectics in war and peace, military and politics, development and security, deterrence and actual combat, man and weapons, and military training, which has formed a military dialectics thought with epoch-making originality and provided scientific thinking methods and working methods for strengthening the army to win.
The supreme leader’s thoughts on strengthening the army are in the same strain as Mao Zedong’s military thoughts, Deng Xiaoping’s thoughts on army building in the new period, Jiang Zemin’s thoughts on national defense and army building, and Hu Jintao’s thoughts on national defense and army building. They are the "military chapter" of the supreme leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, a new leap in the China era of Marxist military theory, a way for the people’s army to strengthen the army and win, and sublimate our party’s understanding of the law of military guidance. Promoting Marxist military theory and contemporary military practice in China to a new level has provided a scientific guide and a program of action for our army to achieve the goal of strengthening the army and step into the world class, and lit up the beacon of the times that shines on the journey of strengthening the army.
Third, unswervingly implement the supreme leader’s thought of strengthening the army in an all-round way in the whole process of national defense and military modernization
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China focused on building a socialist modernized power in an all-round way, made strategic arrangements for adhering to the road of strengthening the army with China characteristics and comprehensively promoting the modernization of national defense and the army, drew a roadmap for accelerating the people’s army into a world-class army, and made clear the practical requirements for comprehensively implementing the thought of strengthening the army by the supreme leader.
(1) Adhere to a series of fundamental principles and systems under which the Party leads the people’s army. This is the irrefutable truth drawn by our party in the struggle between blood and fire. To promote the cause of strengthening the army, we must unswervingly uphold the Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s army, comprehensively promote the Party’s political, ideological, organizational, work style and discipline construction in the army, run through the system construction, deepen the anti-corruption struggle, and ensure the absolute loyalty, purity and reliability of the army. The responsibility system of the Chairman of the Military Commission is the system leader of the Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s army and the "anchor needle" to ensure the long-term stability of the country. This time, it was solemnly written into party constitution, which showed our Party’s political confidence and institutional confidence. To maintain the core and obey the command, our army should first maintain and implement the responsibility system of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, strengthen political awareness, overall awareness, core awareness and conformity awareness, always maintain a high degree of consistency with the CPC Central Committee and President Xi in political stance, political direction, political principles and political road, and obey the command of the CPC Central Committee and President Xi in all actions.
(2) Accurately grasp the strategic arrangements for comprehensively promoting national defense and military modernization. At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, national defense and army building were planned under the great goal of completing the historical mission of the Party in the new era and building a socialist modernization power in an all-round way, and new strategic arrangements were made for comprehensively promoting national defense and army modernization. By 2020, mechanization will be basically realized, significant progress will be made in information construction, and strategic capabilities will be greatly improved. By 2035, the national defense and military modernization will be basically realized, which means that the third goal of the original "three-step" development strategy will be realized 15 years ahead of schedule. By the middle of this century, the people’s army will be built into a world-class army in an all-round way, which reflects the strategic requirements of Socialism with Chinese characteristics for strengthening the army in the new era and shows the determination and boldness of our party to speed up the pace of strengthening the army. Emphasizing the modernization of military theory, military organizational form, military personnel and weapons and equipment in an all-round way means leading military practice with advanced military theory, liberating and developing combat effectiveness with advanced organizational form, liberating and enhancing the vitality of the army, supporting the cause of strengthening the army with a phalanx of high-quality talents, and providing strong material and technical support with advanced weapons and equipment system, and clarifying the main signs and realization paths of national defense and military modernization.
(3) make overall plans to promote the implementation of key tasks of army building reform. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China focused on deepening the cause of strengthening the military, laid out the strategic tasks for the coming period, and made clear the strategic requirements. That is, we should persist in arming the whole army with Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought of the Supreme Leader in the new era, and carry out the theme education of "inheriting the red gene and shouldering the heavy responsibility of strengthening the army" in a down-to-earth manner, so that the party’s innovative theory can take root and bear fruit. Consolidate and expand the phased achievements of reform, focus on policy system adjustment, operational mechanism innovation and military management revolution, and fully realize the goals of national defense and military reform. Focus on winning tomorrow’s war, strengthen the idea that science and technology are the core fighting force, twist the important development direction of intelligence, accelerate the pace of independent innovation, promote strategic, cutting-edge and subversive technological breakthroughs, strengthen the military personnel training system and military human resources policy construction, and strive to build an innovative people’s army. Improve and develop Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s military system, strengthen the implementation of laws and regulations, enhance the legal literacy of officers and men, and improve the legal level of national defense and army building.
(4) focus on preparing for war and improving the ability to perform missions. In order to achieve the goal of "two hundred years" and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, it is required that our army’s ability to fulfill its mission has made a big leap. We must adapt to the development trend of war forms and combat styles and accelerate the construction of a modern combat system with China characteristics. The strength base of this combat system is a powerful modern army, navy, air force, rocket army and strategic support force. The operation center is a strong and efficient theater joint operational command organization, and the operational support is a scientific and complete joint operational system and mechanism, which fundamentally guarantees the centralized and unified leadership of the party. We must keep a close eye on the frontier and the opponent, and accelerate the improvement of joint combat capability and global combat capability based on the network information system. This ability pattern depicts the winning ability of the first-class army to carry out all-dimensional tasks in the whole region, reveals the inherent essence of information-based war network center, information-led, system support and joint winning, and clarifies the target requirements of our army’s ability construction in the new era. We must adapt to the profound changes in the national security environment, make solid preparations for military struggles in all strategic directions, make overall plans to advance preparations for military struggles in traditional security fields and new security fields, and make overall plans for preparing for and stopping wars, safeguarding rights and maintaining stability, deterrence and actual combat, war operations and the use of military forces in peacetime, resolutely defeat all invading enemies, and earnestly shoulder the tasks entrusted by the party and the people in the new era.
(5) Gathering great strength to build a world-class army. The great power of the people’s war comes from the people, and the cause of strengthening the military is rooted in the deep soil of the country’s economy and society. Adhering to the unity of enriching the country and strengthening the military, and further promoting integration of defense and civilian technologies’s development, the key lies in strengthening unified leadership, top-level design, reform and innovation, and the implementation of major projects, solidly promoting the reform of systems and mechanisms, the integration of systems and elements, and the construction of systems and standards, accelerating the formation of an all-factor, multi-field and high-efficiency pattern of integration of defense and civilian technologies’s in-depth development, giving full play to the political advantage that the socialist system can concentrate on doing great things, and maximizing the comprehensive benefits of economic construction and national defense construction. Vigorously carry forward the glorious tradition of loving the army and supporting the army by the people, improve and implement the military honor system, strengthen the management and security of retired military personnel, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of military families, strengthen national defense education for the whole people, improve the national defense mobilization system, consolidate and develop rock-solid military-civilian relations, and unite the powerful force to build a world-class army.
