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 guidance, upholding the use of force to stop conflict, upholding proactive enterprise, upholding holistic planning and all-round consideration, and upholding the courage to fight and the resolve to win." It profoundly reveals the dialectical unity between combat effectiveness and political work, between preparing for war and being able to win wars, between maintaining bottom-line thinking and adhering to proactive enterprise, between key breakthroughs and overall advancement, and between material conditions and fighting spirit. This has deepened the Party's understanding of the laws governing army building and opened a new realm for the development of Marxist military thought.
I. The Dialectical Unity of Combat Effectiveness and Political Work
Regarding the insistence on political guidance, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "In planning and directing war, one must profoundly understand its political attributes, ensure that military affairs subserve politics and strategy subserves policy, and consider war issues from a political height." This profoundly elucidates the dialectical relationship of mutual interaction and promotion between combat effectiveness and political work. On the one hand, the military serves and supports politics; a strong army ensures national security. Only by fully recognizing the exceptional importance of combat effectiveness and strengthening national defense and army building can the military play its role as a strategic pillar and ensure long-term national peace and stability. On the other hand, politics determines and guides military affairs. Political work is itself a form of spiritual combat effectiveness and plays a vital role in promoting the generation of material combat effectiveness. Whether during the period of the New Democratic Revolution [1] 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 when they fight—profoundly reveals that the Party's political leadership is the soul of army building and the essence of strengthening the military.
Within the "Two Overarching Situations" [2]—the strategic overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the world's unseen changes in a century—the interaction and mutual promotion of combat effectiveness and political work have become increasingly important, and the constraints of politics on military affairs are constantly strengthening. International military competition is intricately tied to social systems, ideology, and nation-state sovereignty. To this end, to further consolidate and strengthen the institutional advantage of the Party's absolute leadership over the military, it is essential to profoundly comprehend the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments," enhance the "Four Consciousnesses," firm up the "Four Confidences," and achieve the "Two Upholds." We must earnestly implement the Chairperson of the Central Military Commission responsibility system [3], observing it as the highest political requirement and maintaining 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" [4], and resolutely follow the commands 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 for winning informatized wars [5]. By permeating every link of combat effectiveness construction with political work and integrating it into the entire process of focusing on fighting, the cause of strengthening the military in the New Era can advance along the correct political direction.
II. The Dialectical Unity of Preparing for War and Being Able to Win
Regarding the insistence on 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 further noted: "Our means and options for defending peace, maintaining security, and deterring war are diverse, but military means are always the ultimate guarantee." 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 capability of our military to fight localized modern wars urgently needs enhancement, as does the modern warfare capability 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 and using it for a thousand days" [6] can we forge military capabilities that are ready for battle at all times and capable of fighting at any moment.
Globalization has intensified the evolution of the "human risk society." Traditional and non-traditional security threats are intertwined and mutually influential. Terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, financial crises, severe natural disasters, climate change, energy and resource security, food security, and public health security are increasingly becoming global issues threatening human survival and sustainable socio-economic development. Uncertainties and instabilities in world development are gradually increasing. As China is in a critical stage of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the People's Army must "uphold the use of force to stop conflict" and always keep the string of war preparation taut. A strong country must have a strong military, and a strong military must flourish through training. Only in this way can a deterrent be formed, thereby effectively responding to crises, vigorously deterring war, and fundamentally winning war. 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. Practical combat training has been advanced with great fervor. The intensity, scale, level, and strictness of this training have reached new historical heights, achieving new breakthroughs in comprehensively improving the capability to prepare for war in the New Era. The People's Army relied on the courage to fight and the resolve to win to create great historical achievements, and it will surely rely on these same qualities to win new glories.
III. The Dialectical Unity of Bottom-Line Thinking and Proactive Enterprise
Regarding proactive enterprise, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "In the past, we moved with the tide, and opportunities were relatively easy to grasp; now we must move against the wind, and the difficulty of grasping opportunities is different. In the past, the general environment was relatively stable, and risks and challenges were easier to see clearly; now the world situation is turbulent and complex, geopolitical challenges involve high winds and swift waves, with many hidden reefs and undercurrents, placing higher requirements on our ability to respond. In the past, our development level was low, and we had more complementarity with others; now our development level has improved, and our competitiveness with others has increased." This incisively points out the dialectical relationship of mutual interaction and promotion between bottom-line thinking and proactive enterprise. The world situation is changing rapidly; various "Black Swan" and "Gray Rhino" events occur from time to time. Diverse foreseeable and unforeseeable opportunities and challenges overlap, making challenges ubiquitous while opportunities remain unprecedented. In this critical period, we must adhere to bottom-line thinking, stay alert to danger in times of peace, firmly establish the standard of combat effectiveness, and simultaneously turn passivity into initiative. We must advance in the face of difficulties, push military reforms forward, seize the initiative amidst crises, and open up new strategic opportunities within changes.
Currently, the historical process of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable; we must advance bottom-line thinking and proactive enterprise in a coordinated manner. In terms of adhering to the bottom line: the more peaceful the times, the more the military must remain clear-headed. It must use bottom-line thinking to strengthen the ideological preparation for war and being ready to fight at any time, ensuring that when risks and challenges are encountered, there is the certain combat effectiveness required to defend the bottom line of national defense and military security. In terms of proactive enterprise: the new world military revolution is changing with each passing day, and military technology and forms of warfare are undergoing major shifts. To win the strategic initiative in military competition, protect national sovereignty and security, and achieve stable socio-economic development, we must seek combat effectiveness from innovation. We must break all institutional and mechanistic obstacles hindering military development, liberate and develop productive forces for combat, and stimulate the vitality and momentum of national defense and army building. By fully integrating new concepts and standards into military practice and various constructions, we will gradually optimize the strategic military layout, shape a favorable strategic posture for military struggle, and build a modern Chinese military force system to ensure our army takes the initiative in future wars.
IV. The Dialectical Unity of Key Breakthroughs and Overall Advancement
Regarding holistic planning and all-round consideration, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Adhere to 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 intrinsic unity of key breakthroughs and overall advancement is an excellent tradition and successful experience passed down and innovated by Chinese Communists from Marxist materialist dialectics. It is also the methodological principle behind the historical achievements and transformations in strengthening the military in the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, in leading the cause of strengthening the army in the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has followed the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics, comprehensively promoting military building through politics, reform, science and technology, talent, and law. Facts have proved that without holistic planning there is no efficiency, and without all-round consideration there is no synergy. In the overall situation of realizing the "Dream of a Strong Military," we must consider the coupling and correlation 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, building the military through politics is the fundamental guarantee, playing the role of the "lifeline" of military political work and ensuring the red gene of the People's Army is passed down forever, 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 army capable of winning informatized wars, we must deeply advance reforms in national defense and the military, scientifically optimize the scale, structure, and composition of the army, 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 times 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 flourishing the military. We must continuously strengthen the construction of military talent projects. Governing the military according to law is the basic guarantee; improving legal literacy and cultivating legal thinking will promote the development of our military's regularization to a higher level.
V. The Dialectical Unity of Material Conditions and Fighting Spirit
Regarding the courage to fight and the resolve to win, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "History tells us that war is not only a contest of material but also a competition of spirit. Without a tenacious will and the quality of daring to sacrifice, no matter how good the weaponry and equipment are, victory cannot be guaranteed." This profoundly elucidates the dialectical relationship of mutual interaction and promotion between material conditions and fighting spirit. Dialectical materialism holds that matter and spirit are a unity of opposites; matter is primary and spirit is secondary, yet under certain conditions, the two can transform into one another. On the one hand, material conditions are an important basis for generating combat effectiveness. To grasp the initiative in modern warfare, we must persist in developing advanced weapons as an important measure for war preparation and improve our strategic ability to deal with future wars. On the other hand, 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 [7], the Volunteer Army disregarded their own safety and fought heroically, creating a miracle in the history of modern world warfare by using "less steel but more spirit" to overcome "more steel but less spirit." In today's era, science and technology are changing rapidly, and new types of equipment are being iterated. The "steel" of the People's Army has undergone earth-shaking changes. General Secretary Xi Jinping once lamented: "In the past, there was less steel but more spirit; now we have more steel, so we must have 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 blood and bravery of being fierce, tenacious, and daring to win, and gather majestic spiritual strength to realize the dream of a strong country and a strong military. No matter how the times change, only if the People's Army possesses "Four-Haves" and "Four-Irons" [8] military talent and strategic "sharp weapons" to deter and defeat the enemy can it better grasp the initiative to win in the unpredictable wars of the future.
(The author is a professor at the "August 1st Spirit Research Center" of Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University) Source: Chinese Social Sciences Net (cssn.cn) Web Editor: Huihui