China introduces new military equipment procurement regulations

Chinese President Xi Jinping has signed into effect a new set of military equipment procurement regulations as part of efforts to boost the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) combat capabilities and its level of preparedness, according to a 1 November article published by the Xinhua news agency.

The ‘Army Equipment Order Regulations', which came into effect on 1 November, were described by the state-owned media outlet as “the [new] basic rules governing military equipment procurement”.

Very few details have emerged about what they actually entail, but the People's Daily newspaper reported that they bring into force a “military modernisation management concept” aimed at improving current equipment procurement procedures while also resolving “contradictory problems that restrict equipment development”.

The new regulations, which the paper said “focus on war preparedness”, came into effect after a 26 October conference held in Beijing on military equipment and weapons, during which Xi called on China's defence industry to effectively improve the local development of weapons and equipment.

This is not the first such set of regulations approved by Xi intended to boost PLA modernisation. In January 2021 the president signed a similar order that included 100 stipulations and 14 chapters, while the November regulations include 42 articles in eight chapters, according to Xinhua. The state-owned Global Times newspaper said the January regulations define “the basic tasks, contents and management mechanisms for military equipment work under the new situation and system”.