The People's Daily (October 27) reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a speech at the People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) Military Equipment Conference held in Beijing on October 25 and 26. In his speech,
Xi Jinping said, “I hope that comrades implement the Party’s thinking about building a strong army, … and that they build the management system for weapons and equipment modernization in order to make positive
contributions to the PLA’s one hundred year anniversary (August 1, 2027).” Xi Jinping emphasized the
“breakthrough development” of military weapons and equipment construction during the 13th Five-Year Plan
period under the Central Military Commission’s (CMC) strong leadership and expressed hope that “comrades
will thoroughly implement the Party’s thoughts on strengthening the military in the new era, thoroughly
implement the guidelines on military strategy in the new era, speed up advancing the implementation of the
‘14th Five-Year’ Plan’s tasks, and speed up the construction of a modernized management system for weapons
and equipment,” among other things. General Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the CCP Central Military
Commission, said “We must focus on national security needs, keep an eye on the realistic military struggle,
focus on technological self-reliance and self-improvement, and make every effort to speed up the
modernization of weapons and equipment, to advance the PLA’s weapons and equipment work to another
great level.”
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