President Xi Reiterates Combat-Readiness, Says Army Needs to Be “Powerful As Tigers”

Chinese President Xi Jinping recognizes that the so-called trade war between the US has very little to do with trade; it has more to do with the US attempting to squash China as a rising power. 

PLA Daily reported on Monday that President Xi told a Central Military Committee (CMC) conference on the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) armed forces that it must be combat-ready and adjust to a world of rising volatility.

“The grass-roots level of the military is experiencing new conditions and changes in its mission, construction, daily operation, unit structure, personnel composition, and social environment,” President Xi, the CMC’s chairman, said.  

President Xi said all PLA ranks must be ready for combat, even lower-ranked units. 

“Our commanders and soldiers should be courageous, and our troops should be powerful as tigers,” he added.

In the last five years, President Xi has led a massive military modernization effort across the PLA. He has guaranteed the immediate deployment of new military weapons, like fifth-generation fighters, modern warships, laser weapons, railguns, stealth drones, and hypersonic missiles.

He said the modernization effort has led to increased combat-readiness and a strengthened military. 

President Xi had previously said China was “confronted with unpredictable international developments and a complicated and sensitive external environment” and said PLA forces are ready to answer the call to fight at any given moment.

China’s increased combat-readiness is mostly due to the US attempting to prevent it from being a major superpower. 

By 2025-2030, China’s economic, industrial, technological, and military achievements are likely to displace the US as a global superpower. 

China’s defense budget, the second largest in the world, could outpace the US by 2030. 

China is modernizing its military and preparing for a fight against the US. 

Both China and the US have fallen into Thucydides Trap, one where the rising power (China), challenges the status quo power (the US), usually results in a shooting war.