In order to be successful in taking on the mission of safeguarding world
peace and promoting common development, it is a must to map out plans for and to
boost the army building with a breadth of worldwide vision and with a forward
mentality ready to break new grounds. As China's comprehensive strength is
incrementally mounting and her status keeps on going up in the international
affairs, it is a matter of great importance to strive to construct a military
force that is commensurate with China's status and up to the job of defending
the interests of China's development so as to entrench China's international
status.
In the final analysis, it is the comprehensive strength that decides the
international status of a nation. During the 20 plus years of reform and opening
up, China has been sticking to giving the spotlight to economic construction, to
constantly gearing up economic development and to building up her economic
strength, which have resulted in boosting her comprehensive strength by a big
margin and in increasingly swelling her influence in the world and regional
affairs. It is the intrinsic requirements of the national development to step up
the building of national defense, to beef up the military might and to forge a
strong military force powerful enough to take on important missions on the basis
of the economic development, and it is of great immediate significance to
uplifting the overall national strategic capability, safeguarding the interests
of national development, defending the national security and upholding world
peace.
Moreover, to keep abreast with the changing international strategic
configuration and the demands of the security situation and forge a military
force that matches China's international status is a vital guarantee for keeping
the world strategic balance, for shaping up China's fine image of being a
responsible power, for further stretching China's international influence and
for securing a longer period of peaceful environment for China and the world.
By Sun Xuefu
(Apr. 28, PLA Daily)
