Deeply Understand and Grasp Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, manifesting Chairman Xi Jinping’s broad strategic vision and firm resolve to support a strong nation with a strong military. Understanding and grasping the historical value of Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military is conducive to profoundly comprehending, from a strategic height, the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, achieving the Two Upholds, implementing the system of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission assuming overall responsibility, and transforming the study and implementation of Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military into a great force for advancing the cause of strengthening the nation and the military.

习近平强军思想，是习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的重要组成部分，彰显了习近平主席以强军支撑强国的宏阔战略视野和坚定决心意志。理解和把握习近平强军思想的历史价值，有利于从战略高度深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，做到“两个维护”，贯彻军委主席负责制，把学习贯彻习近平强军思想转化为推进强国强军事业的巨大力量。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

习近平强军思想，是习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的重要组成部分。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military is both a scientific system of military theory and an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It must be understood and grasped as a whole from the theory and practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.

习近平强军思想既是一个科学的军事理论体系，也是习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的重要组成部分，要从新时代中国特色社会主义的理论与实践中对其进行整体认识和把握。

The implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in the military domain. Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military is both the Party’s military guiding theory and the military strategy of the Party’s governance of the country in the New Era. It takes supporting the great cause of national rejuvenation with a strong military as its fundamental focus, takes realizing the Party’s goal of strengthening the military in the New Era as its core requirement, and takes following the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics as its practical orientation. It resolves major issues such as what kind of strong people’s military to build in the New Era and how to build a strong people’s military, reflecting the objective laws and strategic considerations that rejuvenation requires a strong military, a strong nation requires a strong military, and governance requires command of the military.

习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想在军事领域的贯彻落实。习近平强军思想，既是党的军事指导理论，也是新时代党治国理政的军事方略。它以强军支撑强国复兴伟业为根本着眼，以实现党在新时代的强军目标为核心要求，以走中国特色强军之路为实践指向，破解了新时代建设一支什么样的强大人民军队、怎样建设强大人民军队等重大问题，体现了复兴必兴军、强国必强军、执政必执军的客观规律和战略考量。

Rooted in the practical soil of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has unified the two major goals of enriching the nation and strengthening the military, coordinated the two major tasks of development and security, planned national defense and military modernization within the process of national modernization, elevated the Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s military to a basic strategy for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, incorporated deepening national defense and military reform into the overall plan for comprehensively deepening reform, incorporated the military innovation system into the national innovation system, incorporated our military’s talent work into the overall plan for the Party’s and the nation’s talent work, and incorporated law-based governance of the military into the overall plan for comprehensively advancing law-based governance, forming a strategic layout for strengthening the military and rejuvenating the military, promoting high-quality development of national defense and military modernization, and providing strong military support for confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, confidence in the system, and confidence in the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

根植于新时代中国特色社会主义的实践土壤。以习近平同志为核心的党中央统一富国和强军两大目标，统筹发展和安全两件大事，把国防和军队现代化放在国家现代化进程中来运筹，把坚持党对人民军队的绝对领导上升为新时代坚持和发展中国特色社会主义的一条基本方略，把深化国防和军队改革纳入全面深化改革总盘子，把军事创新体系纳入国家创新体系，把我军人才工作纳入党和国家人才工作大盘子，把依法治军纳入全面依法治国总盘子，形成强军兴军战略布局，推动国防和军队现代化高质量发展，为中国特色社会主义道路自信、理论自信、制度自信、文化自信提供强大军事支撑。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military is a precious crystallization of thought formed by the Party’s unremitting pursuit of the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics.

习近平强军思想，是党不懈追求中国特色强军之路形成的宝贵思想结晶。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military was formed and developed in the practice of exploring the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, embodying the practical experience and collective wisdom of the Party and the people.

习近平强军思想，是在探索新时代中国特色强军之路的实践中形成和发展起来的，凝聚着党和人民的实践经验和集体智慧。

Inheriting the precious experience of the Party’s unremitting pursuit of the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics. Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military develops through inheritance, embodying the experience and wisdom of generations of Chinese Communists. It inherits the basic principles of building the Party ideologically and building the military politically, forming the strategy of building the military politically in the New Era; inherits the goal of “building our military into a strong, modernized, and regularized revolutionary military,” proposing the Party’s goal of strengthening the military in the New Era; inherits the thinking on active defense, emphasizing initiative and proactiveness; inherits the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics, exploring the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics, and so on, continuously passing on and developing the essence of the Party’s leadership in building a strong people’s military.

继承了党不懈追求中国特色强军之路的宝贵经验。习近平强军思想，在继承中发展，凝聚着一代又一代中国共产党人的经验与智慧。它继承了思想建党、政治建军的基本原则，形成了新时代政治建军方略；继承了“把我军建成一支强大的现代化、正规化的革命军队”，提出了党在新时代的强军目标；继承了积极防御思想，强调积极主动；继承了中国特色精兵之路，探索了中国特色强军之路等，将党领导建设强大人民军队的精华不断传承发展。

Embodying the latest achievements of the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. From the very beginning of proposing the “Chinese Dream” and the “dream of a strong military,” Chairman Xi Jinping creatively revealed and reflected the essence and laws of the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics. From contemplating and answering “what the military should look like,” to proposing the Party’s goal of strengthening the military in the New Era; from focusing on advancing military strategic guidance with the times, to leading the formulation of the military strategic guidelines for the New Era; from focusing on eradicating problems and accumulated ills and solving major issues of the Party building the military ideologically and politically, to establishing the strategy of building the military politically in the New Era, and so on, the theoretical achievements of Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military are continuously enriched.

凝聚着新时代中国特色强军之路的最新成果。习近平主席从提出“强国梦”“强军梦”之始，创造性地揭示和反映了中国特色强军之路的本质和规律。从思考回答“军队的样子”，到提出党在新时代的强军目标；从着眼与时俱进创新军事战略指导，到领导制定新时代军事战略方针；从着眼革除问题积弊、解决党从思想上政治上建设军队的重大问题，到确立新时代政治建军方略等，不断丰富着习近平强军思想的理论成果。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military is the fundamental guidance and program of action for accelerating national defense and military modernization and comprehensively building a world-class military.

习近平强军思想，是加快国防和军队现代化、全面建设世界一流军队的根本遵循和行动纲领。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military has drawn a grand blueprint and provided a practical path for accelerating national defense and military modernization and comprehensively building a world-class military, demonstrating the power of truth in practice.

习近平强军思想，为加快国防和军队现代化、全面建设世界一流军队，擘画了宏伟蓝图、提供了实践路径，在实践中彰显了真理的伟力。

Drawing a grand blueprint for comprehensively building a world-class military. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, based on the new historical orientation, established the Party’s goal of strengthening the military in the New Era, made a strategic plan for comprehensively advancing national defense and military modernization, and proposed a new “three-step” strategy for national defense and military modernization: “by 2027, achieve the centenary goal of military building; by 2035, basically realize national defense and military modernization; by the middle of this century, fully build the people’s military into a world-class military.” [1]1 This refers to the three-phase modernization timeline for the People’s Liberation Army announced by Xi Jinping at the 19th National Congress of the CPC in 2017. These strategic arrangements align with the strategic arrangements for comprehensively building a great modern socialist country, highlighting the strategic consideration of supporting a strong nation with a strong military.

擘画了全面建设世界一流军队的宏伟蓝图。以习近平同志为核心的党中央立足新的历史方位，确立了党在新时代的强军目标，对全面推进国防和军队现代化建设进行了战略擘画，提出国防和军队现代化新“三步走”战略，“到2027年实现建军一百年奋斗目标，到2035年基本实现国防和军队现代化，到本世纪中叶把人民军队全面建成世界一流军队”。这些战略安排与全面建成社会主义现代化强国的战略安排相契合，凸显了以强军支撑强国的战略考量。

Providing a practical path for realizing Chinese-path military modernization. Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military clarifies that the Party’s absolute leadership over the military is the foundation of military building and the soul of strengthening the military, plans the strategic layout for strengthening and rejuvenating the military and the “four modernizations,” [2]2 The “four modernizations” in this context are mechanization, informatization, intelligentization, and modernization of military theory and organization. proposes the integrated development of mechanization, informatization, and intelligentization, and so on, providing a clear roadmap, construction plan, timeline, and task list for following the path of strengthening the military with Chinese characteristics. As long as all officers and soldiers of the entire military firmly adhere to the goal of strengthening the military and strive vigorously, they will surely achieve the strategic goals on schedule.

提供了实现中国式军队现代化的实践路径。习近平强军思想，明确了党对军队的绝对领导，是人民军队的建军之本、强军之魂，规划了强军兴军的战略布局和“四个现代化”，提出机械化信息化智能化融合发展等，为走中国特色强军之路提供了清晰的路线图、施工图、时间表、任务书。全军官兵只要扣牢强军目标，踔厉奋发，就一定会如期实现战略目标。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military is, in essence, the Party’s military thought in the New Era.

习近平强军思想，本质上是新时代党的军事思想。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military runs through the Party’s nature, purpose, original aspiration and founding mission, is filled with the sentiment of serving the people by carrying guns and fighting for the people, and is a vivid reflection of the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method concerning the masses in the field of national defense and military construction.

习近平强军思想，贯穿着我们党的性质宗旨和初心使命，满怀着为人民扛枪、为人民打仗的为民情怀，是马克思主义关于人民群众的立场观点方法在国防和军队建设领域的生动反映。

Inheriting the basic viewpoints and methods of the Party’s military thought. It consistently examines and considers issues of war and military affairs using the basic principles of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, consistently upholding the Marxist view of war; it consistently upholds the Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s military, consistently upholding the Party’s principle of military building; it consistently attaches importance to perpetuating the traditional character of the old Red Army, consistently upholding the military’s bloodline and genes; it consistently emancipates the mind and seeks truth from facts, consistently upholding the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities; it consistently integrates Marxist military theory with China’s excellent traditional military culture, consistently upholding the soul and essence of Chinese culture.

继承了党的军事思想的基本观点方法。始终用辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义基本原理考察审视战争和军事问题，坚持马克思主义战争观一以贯之；始终坚持党对人民军队的绝对领导，坚持党的建军原则一以贯之；始终重视永葆老红军传统本色，坚持军队的血脉基因一以贯之；始终解放思想、实事求是，坚持马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合一以贯之；始终把马克思主义军事理论同中华优秀传统军事文化相结合，坚持中华文化的魂魄精义一以贯之。

Enriching the theoretical system of the Party’s military thought. It proposes the Party’s goal of strengthening the military in the New Era, deploys the new “three-step” strategy for national defense and military modernization, endows the strategy of active defense with new contemporary connotations, studies and grasps the characteristics and laws of informationized and intelligentized warfare, develops the thinking on building the military politically and Party building in the military, comprehensively strengthens military governance, consolidates and improves the integrated national strategic system and capabilities, builds a modern national defense mobilization system, builds a strong and stable modern border, coastal, and air defense, and so on, elevating our Party’s understanding of national defense and military construction, military struggle preparation, and the laws of war guidance to a new height.

丰富了党的军事思想的理论体系。提出党在新时代的强军目标，部署国防和军队现代化新“三步走”战略，赋予积极防御战略新的时代内涵，研究掌握信息化智能化战争特点规律，发展政治建军、军队党建的思想，全面加强军事治理，巩固提高一体化国家战略体系和能力，构建现代化国防动员体系，建设强大稳固的现代边海空防等，把我们党对国防和军队建设、军事斗争准备、战争指导规律的认识提升到了新高度。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military has opened up a new realm for the development of contemporary Chinese Marxist military theory and military practice.

习近平强军思想，开拓了当代中国马克思主义军事理论和军事实践发展新境界。

Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military integrates the basic tenets of Marxism with the practice of strengthening the military and rejuvenating the military in the New Era, answering the questions of the times and the questions of strengthening the military, representing a new leap in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times in military theory.

习近平强军思想，将马克思主义基本原理同新时代强军兴军实践相结合，回答时代课题、强军之问，是马克思主义军事理论中国化时代化的新飞跃。

Providing the “great cognitive tool” of the contemporary Chinese Marxist military outlook and methodology. Xi Jinping’s thought on strengthening the military insists on using Marxism to examine contemporary Chinese military issues, elaborates in detail on major relationships such as military affairs and politics, war and peace, stabilizing the situation and shaping the situation, deterrence and actual combat, and humans and weapons, proposes the “five adherences,” [3]3 The “five adherences” are a set of principles in Xi Jinping’s military thought, typically including adherence to the Party’s absolute leadership over the military, adherence to the people-centered approach, adherence to active defense, adherence to reform and innovation, and adherence to integrated development. providing a cognitive tool for strengthening the military and winning wars in the New Era, and uses this tool to continuously resolve various contradictions and problems in the practice of strengthening the military, always ensuring correct direction, appropriate strategy, and effective response.

提供了当代中国马克思主义军事观和方法论“这一伟大的认识工具”。习近平强军思想，坚持用马克思主义审视当代中国军事问题，详细阐发军事与政治、战争与和平、稳局与塑势、威慑与实战、人与武器等重大关系，提出“五个坚持”，为新时代强军打赢提供了认识工具，并运用这一工具不断解决强军实践中的各种矛盾问题，始终做到方向正确、策略得当、应对有力。

It provides the practical standard of integrating knowledge and action, and revitalizing the military through solid work. Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military consistently runs through seeking truth from facts, emphasizing the integration of knowledge and action, and revitalizing the military through solid work. Adhering to the practical standard requires the entire military to “firmly establish combat effectiveness as the sole and fundamental standard,”[4]4 A formulation from the military work under Xi Jinping, emphasizing that all military construction and reforms must be centered on actual combat capability. establishing a military practical standard that is unified with the practical standard for testing truth and the value standard of the people’s interests. Adhering to practical leadership emphasizes “insisting that leaders take the lead and set an example from above,”[5]5 A principle of Party and military leadership, meaning that higher-level officials should model correct behavior for subordinates to follow. “starting from myself, starting from the Central Military Commission.” Adhering to a problem-oriented approach, it vigorously promotes the practice of investigation and research, and views the implementation of work from the political perspective of grasping implementation.

提供了知行合一、实干兴军的实践标准。习近平强军思想，始终贯穿实事求是，强调知行合一、实干兴军。坚持实践标准，要求全军“牢固树立战斗力这个唯一的根本的标准”，确立了与实践检验真理标准、人民利益价值标准相统一的军事实践标准。坚持实践引领，强调“坚持领导带头、以上率下”“从我做起，从军委做起”。坚持问题导向，大兴调查研究之风，从讲政治的高度看待抓落实。

(The author is an associate researcher at the Academy of Military Political Work, Academy of Military Sciences)

（作者系军事科学院军队政治工作研究院副研究员）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心