On August 1, 1927, a shot from above the city of Nanchang heralded the rise on the stage of history of a new kind of People’s Army under the independent leadership of a party.
Since then, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (Zhongguo Renmin Jiefangjun) has plunged into the historical torrent of the will to liberate China and give independence and rebirth to the Chinese nation. It has been so closely linked to the destiny of the people both before and since the proclamation, on October 1, 1949, of the People’s Republic of China.
From July 15 to 18, 2024, the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. The assembly proposed that it is necessary to maintain the Party’s absolute leadership over the Army, implement thorough reform and strengthen military strategy, and provide strong guarantees to achieve the centenary goal of the founding and fundamentally realize the modernization of national defense on schedule.
On July 30, 2024, the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee held the 16th collective study on promoting the construction of modern border, sea and air defense. In chairing the study, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee, gave a speech in which he stressed the need to strengthen mission responsibility, innovate ideas and measures, strictly implement the work and commit to building a modern, strong and stable border.
Today, the People’s Liberation Army, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, is under the orders of the Party and is advancing on the path of strengthening and modernization.
Hu Zhengxian, a 106-year-old Red Army veteran, has climbed snowy mountains twice and crossed the grasslands three times with the Fourth Front Red Army. After experiencing the test of life or death in the Long March, he gradually became an outstanding army communications officer and was hailed as “the Red Interceptor.” Hu Zhengxian crossed a pass with comrades at an altitude of 4,114 meters on Mount Jiajin in Sichuan.
During the Long March, the Red Army often faced trials of extreme difficulty: battles almost every day; they had to walk an average of 365 miles before they could rest; bombs could fall from above at any time; and they often faced enemies 10 times their size, chasing and blocking them. After the Xiangjiang campaign, the Red Army was reduced from the initial 86,000 soldiers to just over 30,000.
Tang Jinxin is a veteran of the First Red Army who fought from southern Jiangxi to northern Shaanxi. “During the Long March, whether it was the brave warriors who crossed the Dadu River or the heroes who captured the Luding Bridge, they were all members of the Communist Party and its activists,” said Xu Yan, a professor at the Department of National Defense.
“In daily life, senior commanders gnawed at tree bark and grass roots like ordinary soldiers, but when it came to war, cadres and Party members were always on the front lines.” Tang Jinxin recalled that after each battle, the number of casualties of Party members often accounted for 25 percent or even 50 percent of the total casualties.
Mao Zedong once remarked, “Who made the Long March a success? The Communist Party. Without the Communist Party, such a Long March would be unthinkable.” Without the Communist Party, he added, China would be at the mercy of Western imperialists and British drug traffickers, as it was from the 19th century to the first half of the 20th.
Since 1927, it is under the Party’s strong leadership that the People’s Liberation Army has grown from nothing to something, from weak to strong.
In July 1936, the 8th Company of the 274th Regiment of the Fourth Red Army Front, predecessor of the 4th Company, crossed the prairie for the third time and ran into a food shortage. Officers and soldiers had to dig up wild vegetables and eat basic roots. Fourteen-year-old soldier Zhou Guangcai took out his leather belt, ate half of it with his comrades, then clutched the remaining half and said to his comrades, “Comrades, let’s keep it as a souvenir and take it to Yan’an (Shaanxi).” In the following battles, six comrades died one after another, and only Zhou Guangcai managed to reach Yan’an.
In Yan’an, U.S. journalist Edgar Snow, after meeting soldiers and officers, was deeply impressed by the Red Army’s ideals and firm convictions, revolutionary optimism and working style. He concluded that this army possessed the “eastern magic” to defeat all opponents.
The basic principles and systems of the Party’s leadership over the Army, which originated from the Nanchang Uprising, one of the first episodes of the Chinese civil war between Jiang Jieshi’s Guomindang (Chiang Kai-shek) and the Communist Party of China, which constituted the first major military confrontation, were established on the basis of the Sanwa reorganization: on September 9, 1927, Central Committee Special Envoy Mao Zedong and leaders of the Hunan Provincial Committee unleashed the Autumn Harvest Uprising in the region bordering Hunan and Jiangxi, two southern provinces of China. After the “Sanwan Reorganization,” insurgent troops reached Mount Jinggang in Jiangxi Province, establishing a rural support base for the revolution, which paved the way for the encirclement of the cities from the countryside to achieve political power by armed force.
The village of Sanwan, in the southeastern Chinese province of Jiangxi, was a good place for the troops to survive and grow. When the army arrived in Sanwan, troop leader Mao Zedong announced a reorganization plan to strengthen the army’s solidarity and commitment to the revolution. With the number of troops reduced to less than 1,000, Mao decided to consolidate the forces into a single regiment. The plan also established a democratic structure, ensuring equality between officers and regular soldiers in the army. Party organizations were established at all levels of the Army to ensure that the Army was under the leadership of the Party. All major Army issues were to be discussed and decided collectively by Party committees. Sanwan’s reorganization ensured that all members of the Army, at all levels, worked toward a common goal and marked the beginning of the Chinese Communist Party’s journey toward building a people-oriented Army.
Another milestone was the Gutian Conference, the ninth meeting of the Fourth Red Army and the first after the Nanchang uprising and the subsequent southward flight of rebel troops. It was convened in December 1929 in Gutian City, Shanghang County, Fujian Province. The conference was important in establishing the principle of Party control over the People’s Liberation Army, which continues to be a fundamental tenet of the Chinese Communist Party’s ideology. These are the key political features and advantages that completely distinguish the People’s Liberation Army from traditional armies.
President Xi Jinping stressed, “History tells us that the Party’s command over arms is the fundamental guarantee for maintaining the nature and purpose of the People’s Liberation Army. This is an irrefutable truth elaborated by our Party in the struggle of blood and fire. With the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the People’s Liberation Army will have the directives and strength to move forward.”
There was a time when the problem of weakening Party leadership in the People’s Liberation Army was evident: during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. If it was not completely resolved, it would not only affect its effectiveness in combat, but also the Party’s fundamental political principle of top defense.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Nov. 8-15, 2012), the Central Committee has upheld the absolute leadership of the Party over the Army, made arrangements for the political construction of the Army in the new era of modernization, promoted political training in the spirit of rectification, and comprehensively strengthened the leadership of the Party in the Army.
The responsibility system of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission was comprehensively and thoroughly developed: Mao Zedong 1935-1976; Hua Guofeng 1976-1981; Deng Xiaoping 1981-1989 [Deng, the only one who never served as CCP secretary]; Jiang Zemin 1989-2004; Hu Jintao 2004-2012; Xi Jinping 2012 in office; the construction of Party and government conduct in the Army and the fight against corruption have been deepened and the fundamental improvement of the political environment has been promoted. The People’s Liberation Army has thus preserved its roots and soul.
The Party’s absolute leadership over the armed forces is the foundation of the People’s Liberation Army and the soul of a strong Army, which is gradually strengthened comprehensively; a set of basic principles and systems are implemented and it is ensured that the troops are absolutely loyal and reliable. This is the first of the main contents of Xi Jinping’s thinking on strengthening the Army and responds profoundly to the important issue of the fundamental guarantee for the revitalization of the armed forces.
The officers and soldiers of the entire Army are highly politically, ideologically and action conscious and obey the commands of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission and President Xi.
A set of effective principles and systems have been created for the absolute leadership of the Party over the Army. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Oct. 18-24, 2017) elevated the maintenance of absolute Party leadership over the People’s Liberation Army as the basic strategy for sustaining and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. The Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China summarized in depth the significant advantages of the Party’s command over the armed forces and made arrangements as a separate party to uphold and improve the Party’s absolute command system to lead the People’s Liberation Army and ensure that it faithfully fulfills its mission and tasks.
Specifically: 1. comprehensively and thoroughly activate the responsibility system of the chairman of the Central Military Commission as the highest political requirement and discipline to be observed; 2. maintain and improve the Army’s development system and mechanism; 3. increase the working mechanism for reporting, supervision, inspection and information services; 4. Implement the general requirements for Party construction in the People’s Liberation Army and ensure that it faithfully fulfills its mission and tasks. implement the general requirements for Party construction in the new era; 5. adhere to comprehensive and strict governance; 6. focus on military technical readiness; 7. strengthen the Party’s organizational system in the People’s Army; 8. promote the normalization and institutionalization of political training; 9. persevere in correcting mistakes. This will strengthen discipline and combat malfeasance to comprehensively improve the quality of work of the armed forces.
From June 17 to 19, 2024, the Political Work Conference of the Central Military Commission was held in Yan’an. President Xi Jinping attended the meeting. This conference is a call to look back on traditions and forge through the fire of experience, an ideological cohesion to cultivate original aspirations and align and follow others, and a political mobilization of unity, struggle and overcoming difficulties to become stronger. It represents an important milestone in the new era and path.
The Central Committee’s decision to further deepen reforms and promote Chinese-style modernization, adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, made provisions for the continued deepening of national defense and military reforms, emphasizing the need to improve the institutional set-up, the implementation mechanisms of the system of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and deepen better construction of the Army.
The ability to win battles is the core reflecting the fundamental function of the Army. “805 steps and the bridge over the Yalu River was crossed in just over ten minutes.” Recalling the scene of the Korean War, veteran volunteer soldier Cheng Maoyou said that when he crossed the Yalu River, he never thought of turning back. “Every soldier who crossed the river was determined to defend the new Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North) at the cost of his life, and he was ready to die.”
During the Korean War, to resist the U.S. Army and help the People’s Korea-a conflict that lasted three years and thirty-two days-the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army fought side by side with the Korean People’s Army and repelled the counteroffensive of the U.S.-led “United Nations Army.”
The Chinese People’s Volunteer Army worked closely with the Korean People’s Army and civilians. It fought five consecutive battles, including the first battle at Liang Shuidong, the fierce battle at Yuanshan Cheng, the battle at Chongchon River and the fierce battle at Changjin Lake. Later, they built a defense position as deep “as a wall of copper and a wall of iron” and conducted many offensive campaigns, destroying the stranglehold warfare, resisting the germ warfare and fighting a bloody battle at Shangganling, creating a powerful and magnificent war enterprise.
The ability to win battles is the core, reflecting the central function of the People’s Liberation Army and the orientation of military construction.
Rationalization of the Army, troop reduction, scientific and technological training and discussions on combat effectiveness standards. These are the steps that, in different historical periods, the People’s Liberation Army has always considered as the ideal combat team and, its first task, taking responsibility for victory, planning and training for victory.
From the organs to the base, from the generals to the soldiers, everyone participated in discussion and analysis, deepened ideological understanding, found contradictions and problems, and strengthened awareness of potential dangers in thinking about war and planning for war. Spiritual motivation for training and combat was constantly stimulated, and the will and strength to strengthen the Army and win were continually gathered.
The People’s Liberation Army prepares militarily and focuses on the ability to fight and win battles, beat enemies, neutralize strong opponents, innovate military strategic guidance, develop partisan people’s warfare strategies and tactics, and comprehensively strengthen military training and preparation. Firmly and flexibly lead the struggle, effectively shape the situation and manage crises with the premise of containing the war and, if necessary, winning it. These basic connotations of Xi Jinping’s thinking on strengthening the National Liberation Army deeply answer the main question on revitalization and modernization of the armed forces.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, faced with the complex domestic and international situation and the arduous and heavy military tasks, the Central Committee, the Central Military Commission and President Xi have assessed the situation, assumed overall control, innovated military strategic guidance, adapted and optimized the military strategic set-up, and stressed that it is necessary to improve the functions of the Joint Operations Command Center of the Central Military Commission, improve security: that is, strengthen the field command function and establish a coordination mechanism with central and state organs.
Building a working style is regarded as an essential and long-term task of the Army, and to carry it out well, make great efforts to cure laxity, dispersion, emptiness, weakness, hedonism and extravagance, so as to always keep the political character of the People’s Liberation Army high.
From April to July 2024, the entire Party conducted training activities on internal discipline. All levels of the Army (officers and soldiers) have been conscientiously implementing the demands of the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission with a strong sense of responsibility and urgency, promoting the practical study and education of Party discipline, and becoming more aware in learning, knowing, understanding and complying with the discipline and political and moral determination dictated by the Communist Party of China.
Author: Giancarlo Elia Valori – Honorable de l’Académie des Sciences de l’Institut de France, Honorary Professor at the Peking University.
(The views expressed in this article belong only to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights).