Chinese President Xi Jinping is urging the People's Liberation Army (PLA), China's armed forces, and China's business and technology sectors to work more closely together to foster the stronger sense of mission needed for deeper military-civilian integration.
Xi is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) that commands the PLA and its five armed services. He asked for stronger implementation of military-civilian integration and further coordinated innovation in science and technology.
Xi made this call while presiding over the second session of the Central Commission for Integrated Military and Civilian Development (CCIMCD), which he also heads. Formed only in January 2017, CCIMCD is the central agency tasked with decision-making, deliberation, and coordination of major issues regarding integrated military and civilian integration.
It reports to the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
The CCIMCD meeting this week deliberated and passed a key guideline on strengthening the development of integrated military and civilian development. Chinese state-owned media also reported that Han Zheng and Wang Huning, who are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also attended the meeting. Both are also deputy heads of the CCIMCD.
The leadership present at the meeting emphasized the implementation of the guideline. They also underscored the importance of military-civilian integration in order to ensure legislation supporting this effort covers all major areas.
They said the system and mechanism for military-civilian integration should be enhanced to make sure issues are deliberated; decisions are made and tasks are executed according to plan.
Leaders also said a fairer market environment must be built to push forward competitive procurement. Doing this will guide state-owned military industrial enterprises to do business with private firms in an orderly manner. It will also increase the ratio of civilian and private enterprises that take part in military-civilian integration.
The meeting called for making breakthroughs in key and core technologies to promote sci-tech innovation and to build major strategic projects is an effective way. Implementing projects should play a leading role in the process.
China's advantages and strengths should be focused and coordinated to make breakthroughs as soon as possible. Leaders also called for the strengthening of the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee.
They said Party committees and local governments at all levels should implement military-civilian integration as a major political responsibility. They should also be brave enough to reform and innovate and work hard to make new progress in the deeper development of military-civilian integration.
