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China MILITARY MODERNIZATION
The military modernization begun in the late 1970s had three
major focuses. First, under the political leadership of Deng
Xiaoping, the military became disengaged from civilian politics
and, for the most part, resumed the political quiescence that
characterized its pre-Cultural Revolution role. Deng reestablished
civilian control over the military by appointing his supporters to
key military leadership positions, by reducing the scope of the
PLA's domestic nonmilitary role, and by revitalizing the party
political structure and ideological control system within the PLA.
Second, modernization required the reform of military
organization, doctrine, education and training, and personnel
policies to improve combat effectiveness in combined-arms warfare.
Among the organizational reforms that were undertaken were the
creation of the state Central Military Commission, the streamlining
and reduction of superfluous PLA forces, civilianization of many
PLA units, reorganization of military regions, formation of group
armies, and enactment of the new Military Service Law in 1984.
Doctrine, strategy, and tactics were revised under the rubric of
"people's war under modern conditions," which envisaged a forward
defense at selected locations near China's borders, to prevent
attack on Chinese cities and industrial sites, and emphasized
operations using combined-arms tactics. Reforms in education and
training emphasized improving the military skills and raising the
education levels of officers and troops and conducting combinedarms operations. New personnel policies required upgrading the
quality of PLA recruits and officer candidates, improving
conditions of service, changing promotion practices to stress
professional competence, and providing new uniforms and insignia.
The third focus of military modernization was the
transformation of the defense establishment into a system capable
of independently maintaining a modern military force. As military
expenditures remained relatively constant, reforms concentrated on
reorganizing the defense research-and-development and industrial
base to integrate civilian and military science and industry more
closely. Foreign technology was used selectively to upgrade
weapons. Defense industry reforms also resulted in China's entry
into the international arms market and the increased production of
civilian goods by defense industries. The scope of PLA economic
activities was reduced, but the military continued to participate
in infrastructure development projects and initiated a program to
provide demobilized soldiers with skills useful in the civilian
economy.
Data as of July 1987
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