Xi’s Military Reforms and its Efficacy in Furthering China’s National Security Objectives

Suyash Desai and Manoj Kewalramani
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Suyash Desai: Suyash Desai is an independent research scholar studying China’s defence and foreign policies. His research areas include Chinese security and foreign policies, Chinese military affairs, Chinese nuclear strategy, India–China relations, and strategic and security developments in East Asia. Currently, he is pursuing Chinese language training at the National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He was a former Associate Research Fellow in China Studies Programme at The Takshashila Institution, Bangalore, India. He has also published over 100 weekly issues of The PLA Insight, a weekly newsletter on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. He now writes the PLA Bulletin, a monthly newsletter on the Chinese armed forces. His degrees are from Jawaharlal Nehru University (MPhil in international organisations), Mumbai University (Masters in political science), Indian School of International Law (diploma in international law) and Mumbai University (Bachelors in mass media).
Manoj Kewalramani: Manoj Kewalramani is a Research Fellow at the Takshashila Institution and the Chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme. His work focuses on Chinese politics, foreign policy and approaches to new technologies. He also curates a daily newsletter called Tracking People’s Daily, which analyses Chinese-language discourse and commentaries.

India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, 2022, vol. 78, issue 3, 429-457

Abstract: Chinese President Xi Jinping announced landmark military reforms in late 2015. The reforms intend to remove the ‘institutional obstacles, structural contradictions and policy problems’ with the aim of modernising the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) organisational structure in order to ‘further unleash its combat effectiveness’. They also aim to convert the PLA into a world-class force by 2049. However, assessing the reform process in the context of organisational structures and force-specific objectives, it appears that there remains much to be desired. The reforms have certainly made the PLA a better equipped regional force. But they have, thus far, only had a limited impact in terms of preparing the PLA to meet key strategic and security objectives.

Keywords: People’s Liberation Army; military reforms; theatre commands; Central Military Commission; Xi Jinping; training (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:indqtr:v:78:y:2022:i:3:p:429-457

DOI: 10.1177/09749284221108249

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