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CONCLUSION
Assessing Chinese Military Reforms
Phillip C. Saunders and Joel Wuthnow
C
hina’s military reforms are driven by Xi Jinping’s ambition to
reshape the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to improve its ability to
win informationized [xinxihua, 信息化] wars and to ensure that it
remains loyal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). There is broad politi-
cal support within the party for Xi’s goal of building a stronger military. The
outline of the current military reform agenda was endorsed at the third ple-
num of the 18th Party Congress in November 2013, and Xi played a central
role in working with PLA leaders to develop detailed reorganization plans
and implement the reform agenda.
1
At the first meeting of the new leading
group on military reform in early 2014, Xi declared that the overriding goal
was to produce a military that can “fight and win battles.”
2
The 19
th
Party
Congress work report in October 2017 advanced the timeline for Chinese
military modernization, calling for achieving mechanization and making
strides on informationization and building strategic capabilities by 2020 and
building “world-class forces” [shijie yiliu jun, 世界一流军] by mid-century.
3
The reforms are unprecedented in their ambition and in the scale
and scope of the organizational changes. Virtually every part of the PLA
now reports to different leaders, has had its mission and responsibilities
CHAPTER 18
