Non-Subscriber Extract
Chinese president pledges increase in pace of military modernisation
By Jon Grevatt
17 October 2007
The Chinese president has pledged to accelerate the pace of military modernisation in a speech made to mark the 17th Communist Party of China Congress on 15 October in Beijing.
In the speech, which was published on the Chinese government's website on 16 October, Hu Jintao said: "We must implement the military strategy for the new period, accelerate the revolution in military affairs with Chinese characteristics, ensure military preparedness, and enhance the military's capability to respond to various security threats and accomplish diverse military tasks."
He added: "Bearing in mind the overall strategic interests of national security and development, we must take both economic development and national defence into consideration and make our country prosperous and our armed forces powerful while building a moderately prosperous society in all respects."
Jintao, who is also chairman of China's Central Military Commission, stated that in order to "win IT-based warfare", China will "accelerate the composite development of mechanisation and computerisation, carry out military training under IT-based conditions, intensify our efforts to train a new type of high-calibre military personnel in large numbers and change the mode of generating combat capabilities".