Deeply Study and Implement Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening the Military
Chinese Social Sciences Net report: On May 25, the eighth session of the "21st Century Marxism Grand Lecture Hall," organized by the Division of Marxist Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and hosted by the Institute of Marxism Studies, was held in Beijing. Zhou Shenggang, Deputy Political Commissar of the Academy of Military Sciences, was invited to deliver a special report titled "Deeply Studying and Implementing Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening the Military." Xin Xiangyang, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the Institute of Marxism Studies, presided over the event.
The report pointed out that since the 18th Party Congress [1], the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has coordinated the "two overall situations" [2] and managed the "four great struggles" [3]. In the magnificent practice of strengthening the country and the military, they established Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening the Military. This thinking is, in essence, the Party's military thought for the New Era; it is the latest achievement of our Party's military guiding theory and the program of action for adhering to the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics and fully transforming our military into a world-class force.
The report maintained that Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening the Military is rooted in the foundations of the era, grasps the changes of the era, and answers the questions of the era. It reflects the Party's profound insight into and mastery of the historical law that a strong country must possess a strong military. From a historical perspective, Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening the Military is the latest achievement in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist military theory. From Mao Zedong’s military thought to Deng Xiaoping’s thinking on military building in the new period, Jiang Zemin’s thinking on national defense and military building, Hu Jintao’s thinking on national defense and military building, and finally to Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening the Military, this process of development has been a singular lineage [4] that advances with the times, upholds the fundamentals and breaks new ground, and creates through innovation.
From the perspective of developmental trends, Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening the Military represents new strategic thinking that operates within the "two overall situations" and supports national strengthening and rejuvenation. "He who would stabilize all under heaven must be clear-sighted regarding the great trends of all under heaven, only then can he determine the order or chaos of the world" [5]. Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening the Military is based on profound insight into the world’s "great changes unseen in a century" [6] and on grand strategic planning for the critical stage of our country’s development from being large to being strong. From the perspective of practical requirements, this thinking is a new theoretical creation rooted in the fertile soil of strengthening the military, guiding us toward victory and winning battles. From the perspective of cultural inheritance, it is a new achievement of civilization that carries forward the Chinese spirit and integrates the essence of military science [7], achieving the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s excellent traditional military culture.
The report proposed that General Secretary Xi Jinping, by applying dialectical materialism and historical materialism, has scientifically revealed the strategy for strengthening the military and the way to victory in the New Era. He has formed a military philosophical framework with rich connotations, which can be summarized as the "Five Adherences": Adhering to political guidance, revealing the dialectical unity between politics and military affairs; adhering to using force to stop conflict [8], revealing the dialectical unity between war and peace; adhering to proactive initiative, revealing the dialectical unity between agency and passivity; adhering to holistic coordination, revealing the dialectical unity between the whole and the part; and adhering to the courage to fight and the certainty of victory, revealing the dialectical unity between the material and the spiritual.
In his concluding remarks, Xin Xiangyang noted that Deputy Political Commissar Zhou Shenggang’s report provided a comprehensive, systematic, and profound exposition of Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening the Military. He summarized three characteristics of the report: first, it was systematic and comprehensive; second, it possessed strong academic quality, elaborating on military dialectics in combination with Marxist philosophy; and third, it demonstrated deep strategic thinking, emphasizing that strategic issues are fundamental issues for a political party and a nation. The report took a high vantage point and was rich in content, broadening our horizons and offering profound inspiration for the scholars of the Institute of Marxism Studies to further research and interpret Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.