Li Honglang: Deeply Understand the Dialectics of Xi Jinping's Thinking on Strengthening the Military
Xi Jinping's thinking on strengthening the military adheres to Marxist military dialectics, draws upon the essence of China's excellent traditional military culture, and is rooted in the great practice of the cause of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. It creatively proposes a contemporary Chinese Marxist military outlook and methodology characterized by "upholding political leadership, persisting in using force to stop conflict [1], maintaining an enterprising spirit, ensuring holistic coordination, and daring to fight and win." This thinking profoundly reveals the dialectical unity between combat effectiveness and political work, between war preparedness and the ability to win, between maintaining bottom-line thinking and an enterprising spirit, between key breakthroughs and overall advancement, and between material conditions and the fighting spirit. It deepens the Party's understanding of the laws governing military construction and opens a new realm for the development of Marxist military thought.
I. The Dialectical Unity of Combat Effectiveness Construction and Political Work
Regarding the persistence in political leadership, General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "In planning and guiding war, one must profoundly recognize the political attributes of war, insist that military affairs subserve politics and strategy subserve policy, and contemplate war issues from a political height." This profoundly elucidates the dialectical relationship of mutual interaction and promotion between combat effectiveness construction and political work. On one hand, the military serves and supports politics; a strong military ensures national security. Only by fully recognizing the exceptional importance of combat effectiveness and strengthening national defense and military construction can we leverage its strategic supporting role and ensure the long-term peace and stability of the country. On the other hand, politics determines and guides military affairs. Political work is itself an expression of spiritual combat effectiveness and plays an extremely important role in promoting the generation of physical combat effectiveness. Whether during the New Democratic Revolution [2] or the period of socialist revolution and construction, the glorious history of the People's Army—growing from victory to victory, coming when called, fighting when they arrive, and winning every fight—profoundly reveals that the Party’s political leadership is the soul of military building and the essential requirement for strengthening the military.
Within the "Two Overarching Situations"—the strategic overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the world's once-in-a-century profound changes—the interaction and mutual promotion of combat effectiveness and political work have become increasingly important, and the constraints of politics on military affairs continue to strengthen. International military competition is intricately tied to social systems, ideology, and national sovereignty. To this end, to further consolidate and strengthen the institutional advantage of the Party's absolute leadership over the military, it is necessary to profoundly understand the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments," strengthen the "Four Consciousnesses," firm up the "Four Confidences," and achieve the "Two Upholds." It is essential to earnestly implement and observe the CMC (Central Military Commission) Chairman Responsibility System [3] as the highest political requirement and maintain it as the highest political discipline. As research emphasizes, we must resolutely resist the influence of erroneous political views such as "de-partyization and de-politicization of the military" and "nationalization of the military," and resolutely follow the command of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission. We must explore the mechanism by which political work serves the generation of combat effectiveness in accordance with the requirements of winning informatized wars [4], integrating political work into every link of combat effectiveness construction and the entire process of focusing on fighting. Only then can the cause of strengthening the military in the New Era advance along the correct political direction.
II. The Dialectical Unity of Preparing for War and Being Able to Win
Regarding the persistence in using force to stop conflict, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Only by being able to fight can we stop a war; only by being prepared to fight is it possible not to have to fight; the less capable we are of fighting, the more likely we are to be attacked." He added, "Our means and choices for defending peace, maintaining security, and deterring war are diverse, but military means are always the ultimate resort." This scientifically elucidates the dialectical relationship of mutual interaction and promotion between preparing for war and being able to win. Peace and development remain the themes of the current era, yet the ability of our military to fight modern wars urgently needs enhancement, as does the modern warfare capacity of military commanders at all levels. History and reality profoundly reveal that the contingency and suddenness of war always exist. Only by earnestly establishing the mindset of "maintaining an army for a thousand days to use it for a thousand days" [5] can we forge military capabilities that are ready for combat at all times and capable of fighting at any moment.
Globalization has increasingly intensified the evolution of the "risk society." Traditional and non-traditional security threats are intertwined and interactive. Terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, financial crises, major natural disasters, climate change, energy and resource security, food security, and public health security have increasingly become global issues threatening human survival and sustainable socio-economic development. Uncertain and unstable factors in world development trends are gradually increasing. As China is in a critical stage of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the People's Army must "persist in using force to stop conflict" and always keep the string of war preparedness taut. A strong country must have a strong military, and a strong military must flourish through training. Only by doing so can we form a deterrent, thereby effectively responding to crises, powerfully containing wars, and fundamentally winning them. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, our military has followed the core requirements of being able to fight and win, reshaping the "bones and muscles" of combat and strengthening combat skills. It has pushed forward realistic combat training with unprecedented intensity, high-level structural depth, and strict standards, achieving new breakthroughs in comprehensively improving war preparedness in the New Era. The People's Army created great historical achievements by daring to fight and win, and it will surely win new glories by continuing to do so.
III. The Dialectical Unity of Bottom-line Thinking and an Enterprising Spirit
Regarding the maintenance of an enterprising spirit, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "In the past, we were moving with the tide, and opportunities were easier to grasp; now we must move against the wind, and the difficulty of grasping opportunities is different. In the past, the external environment was relatively stable, and risks and challenges were easier to see clearly; now the world situation is turbulent and complex, geopolitical challenges are stormy, and there are many hidden reefs and undercurrents, putting higher requirements on our response capabilities. In the past, our development level was low, and there was more complementarity with others; now our development level has improved, and there is more competition with others." This incisively points out the dialectical relationship of mutual interaction and promotion between bottom-line thinking and an enterprising spirit. The world situation is changing rapidly; "black swan" and "gray rhino" [6] events occur from time to time, and various predictable and unpredictable opportunities and challenges appear in overlap. Challenges are everywhere, yet opportunities are also unprecedented. In this critical period, we must adhere to bottom-line thinking, be prepared for danger in times of peace, and firmly establish combat effectiveness as the sole criterion. Simultaneously, we must turn passivity into initiative, advance despite difficulties, push forward military reforms, seize the initiative amidst crises, and open up strategic opportunities for development within changes.
Currently, the historical process of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable. We must advance bottom-line thinking and an enterprising spirit in a coordinated manner. Regarding the bottom line: the more peaceful the times, the more the military must maintain a clear head, using bottom-line thinking to strengthen military ideological preparation for war at any time, ensuring that when risks and challenges arise, we have the certain combat effectiveness to defend the bottom line of national defense and military security. Regarding the enterprising spirit: the new world military revolution is changing day by day, and military technology and the forms of war are undergoing major transformations. To win the strategic initiative in military competition, maintain national sovereignty and security, and achieve stable national socio-economic development, we must seek combat effectiveness through innovation. We must break all institutional and mechanistic obstacles restricting military development to liberate and develop productive forces for combat, stimulating the vitality and driving force of national defense and military construction. By fully integrating new concepts and standards into military practice and construction, optimizing the military strategic layout, and shaping a favorable strategic posture for military struggle, we can build a modern Chinese military power system and ensure our military holds the initiative in future wars.
IV. The Dialectical Unity of Key Breakthroughs and Overall Advancement
Regarding the persistence of holistic coordination, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must persist in taking the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics, and comprehensively promote the building of the military through politics, strengthening the military through reform, science and technology, and talent, and governing the military according to law, to build the People's Army into a world-class military, defending national sovereignty, security, and development interests with stronger capabilities and more reliable means!" This fully embodies the dialectical relationship of mutual interaction and promotion between key breakthroughs and overall advancement. Persisting in the inherent unity of key breakthroughs and overall advancement is an excellent tradition and successful experience passed down and innovated by Chinese Communists from Marxist dialectical materialism. It is also the methodological principle behind the historic achievements and transformations in military construction during the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping, in leading the cause of strengthening the military in the New Era, has followed the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics and comprehensively promoted the "Five-Pronged Approach" [7] (building the military through politics, reform, science and technology, talent, and law). Facts have proved that without coordination, there is no efficiency, and without holistic consideration, there is no combined force. In the overall situation of realizing the "Dream of a Strong Military," we must account for the coupling and interconnectedness between various aspects, plan holistically, implement precise policies, and promote coordinated development in all fields to steadily advance the modernization of national defense and the military. Among these, political building is the fundamental guarantee, playing the role of the "lifeline" of military political work and ensuring the eternal transmission of the People's Army's "red gene," thereby forging a new generation of revolutionary troops loyal to and supportive of the Party. Strengthening the military through reform is the key move; to create a modern powerful military capable of winning informatized wars, we must deeply advance the reform of national defense and the military, scientifically optimize the scale, structure, and composition of the military, and unswervingly follow the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics. Strengthening the military through science and technology is the core driving force; we should strengthen basic, forward-looking, and disruptive technological research in informatization and intelligentization, striving to stand at the forefront of the era's tide and win the initiative in military competition and future wars. The essence of world military competition is the competition for first-class talent; talent resources are an important strategic resource for strengthening and reviving the military, and we must continuously strengthen the construction of military talent projects. Governing the military according to law is the basic guarantee; by improving legal literacy and fostering legal thinking, we can promote the development of our military's regularized construction to a higher level.
V. The Dialectical Unity of Material Conditions and the Fighting Spirit
Regarding the persistence in daring to fight and win, General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "History tells us that war is not only a contest of matter but also a competition of spirit. Without tenacious will and the quality of daring to sacrifice, even the best weapons and equipment cannot guarantee victory." This profoundly elucidates the dialectical relationship of mutual interaction and promotion between material conditions and the fighting spirit. Dialectical materialism holds that matter and spirit are a unity of opposites; matter is primary and spirit is secondary, and under certain conditions, the two can transform into each other. On one hand, material conditions are an important basis for generating combat effectiveness. To master the initiative for victory in modern warfare, we must persist in taking the development of advanced weaponry as an important measure for war preparedness and improve our strategic capability to respond to future wars. On the other hand, a fighting spirit can overcome deficiencies in material conditions and is an important spiritual source of combat effectiveness.
During the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea [8], the Volunteer Army braved death and fought heroically, creating a miracle in the history of modern world warfare by surmounting "more steel" with "more spirit" despite having "less steel." In the current era, as science and technology change daily and new equipment iterates rapidly, the "steel" of the People's Army has undergone earth-shaking changes. General Secretary Xi Jinping once remarked with emotion: "In the past, we had less steel but more spirit; now that we have more steel, we need even more spirit, and our bones must be even harder." On the new journey toward a strong country and a strong military, our People's Army must carry forward the fighting spirit of "fearing neither hardship nor death," cultivate the courage and blood-nature [9] of being brave and tenacious, and daring to fight and win, gathering a majestic spiritual force to realize the Dream of a Strong Military. No matter how times change, only if the People's Army possesses "Four-Have" and "Four-Iron" [10] military talent and strategic tools that deter and suppress the enemy can it better grasp the initiative to win in the unpredictable wars of the future.