This is an article published on March 19, 2008 on the website of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Central Committee Party School, entitled “Military Strategy of Active Defense in The New Era.” The article points out that China should strive to win regional wars in the information era, seek to prevent conflicts and wars, improve joint operations and the ability to complete diversified military tasks, push forward the Chinese characteristics of military reform, develop the strategy of a people’s war, and create a safe environment for the nation and peaceful development. The following is the translation of major parts. [1]

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As a large developing country, the economic, social, ecological, security issues and so on during development are relatively more prominent [in China than elsewhere]. In a nation of over 1.3 billion people, the modernization of the country is unprecedented, the fast speed of the economic transformation, its wide impact, and the complexity of the issues are rare in the world. Because the market economy has not been fully developed, during the crucial period of reform and development, the economy’s dependence upon the outside has substantially increased. The threat from terrorism, separatism, and extremism to our border security has become increasingly evident. Traditional security threats, the core of which is military and economic, still exist. Unconventional threats to economic security, information security, energy security, maritime strategy channel security, pubic ecological security, terrorism, etc. are on the rise.

In order to adjust to the changes of the international strategic situation and the national security environment, China has formulated its military strategy of active defense in the new era. Its main contents are as follows:

First, focus on winning a local war during the information age. The main conflict that China’s military buildup faces is that its level of modernization does not meet the requirement of winning local wars under the information age. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is turning to the trend of military development in the world, takes informationization as the direction for modernization, promotes the combined development of mechanization and informationization, gradually implements from mechanization and semi-mechanization to the transformation of informationization, and will achieve the holistic improvement of military power, attack capability, mobility, protection capability, and the overall improvement of information capability. Thus China has drawn up a three-step development strategy of the national defense and military modernization: To build a solid foundation by year 2010, to achieve significant development around 2020, and to reach the strategic goals of completing the informationalized military buildup and winning informationalized foreign military.
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Second, pay attention to prevent conflicts and the outbreak of war. To safeguard the important period of strategic opportunities for the nation’s development and overall situation of national interests, the PLA persistently engages in coordinating closely military actions with politics, economics, diplomatic moves, and so on, and makes comprehensive use of various means and strategies to prevent conflicts and the outbreak of war. China’s security environment is complex—both the major and minor strategic directions have potentials for crises and conflicts. China has always been upholding the principle of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and adheres to a self-defense nuclear strategy. The fundamental goal of this strategy is to contain other countries in the use of or threat of the use of nuclear weapons against China, and China won’t have any nuclear arms race with any other country.

Third, enhance the capability of joint operations and completing diversified military tasks. To meet the requirement of the modern warfare system and a variety of security threats and responses, the PLA uses joint operations as its basic combat modus operandi to enhance the military deterrence and combat capability, as well as carrying out non-war military operation capabilities. In the new era and new stage, the PLA not only needs to respond to traditional security, but also to deal with unconventional security; not only to protect homeland security, but also to safeguard the interests of overseas security; not only to safeguard national development and stability, but also to maintain world peace and development. To this end, the strategy of armed services is undergoing a significant change: our army is moving from a regional defense to global mobile mode, the Navy is changing from close to or on-shore defense to offshore, on-sea defense mode, the Air Force from the air-defense to the offensive-defensive, and the Second Artillery Corps is to be equipped with both regular and nuclear munitions systems.

Fourth, promote military reform with Chinese characteristics. To meet the challenges of new military changes, the PLA applies the strategy of building the military with quality and high technology, enhances the PLA’s weaponry and the innovation of national defense technology, and carries out military training under the informationization age and trains high quality and new types of military personnel. The PLA persists in seeking development in reform and innovation, promoting innovative military organizational structure and management, adjusting and reforming the military establishment and policy systems, to achieve the unification of speed, quality, and effectiveness of the armed forces. From 1985 to 2005, during the 20-year period, the PLA implemented three large-scale disarmaments, a total reduction of 1.7 million personnel. The size is now stabilized at 2.3 million. The PLA focuses on reducing the army’s personnel and military forces equipped with out-of-date technology and equipment, and strengthens the development of the Navy, the Air Force, and the Second Artillery Corps.
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Fifth, develop the strategy and tactics of the people’s war. China’s real advantage and strength lies in the masses of people to build and consolidate national defense. Facing new changes in modern warfare, China adheres to combining the standing army and strong national defense reserve forces, and pays heightened attention to the buildup of militia and reserve forces. According to the strategy of combining peacetime with wartime, and combining the military and civilians with training people to be soldiers, we should develop a unified and highly efficient national defense mobilization mechanism; create new war tactics suitable for normal people to participate in the war, and fully utilize the power of people’s war. Militia is an important component of the armed forces in China. China currently has 10 million primary militia. At present, the militia in China is undergoing changes from infantry forces to a professional technology regiment. Our focus is to develop the air defense sub-teams, branches of the armed forces, and emergency units.

Sixth, create a safe environment that is beneficial to the peaceful development of the nation. The PLA carries out the national peaceful development strategy and foreign policy, develops military cooperation under the no-alliance, no-confrontation and not targeting any third party, and opposes hegemonism and power politics. We do military exchanges and cooperation, and create the military security environment with mutual trust, mutual benefits, jointly preventing conflict and war. We participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations, in the international cooperation to fight terrorism and disaster relief operations, and play an active role in safeguarding the world and regional peace and stability. Since 2002, China has held 18 joint military exercises with 11 countries and regional organizations. Since 1990, China has participated in 18 U.N. peacekeeping operations, and has sent over 9,000 peacekeepers and military personnel. Eight military personnel died in peacekeeping missions. China has sent the most peacekeeping forces among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Currently there are 1,700 peacekeepers carrying out the peacekeeping task. The PLA also sent troops to participate in the Indian Ocean tsunami, as well as Algeria, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan earthquakes, and other international relief operations.

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Endnotes:
[1] CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Central Committee Party School
http://www.ccps.gov.cn/dxrd.php?col=161&file=4975

On March 19, 2008, Outlook Magazine under the State-run Xinhua New Agency published an article entitled “Why Is the United States Strengthening Control over Exports to China?” The article stated that the strengthened control over exports to China is part of a U.S. military containment strategy. The author of the article is a deputy director, associate researcher at the American Studies Department of China’s Institute for International Issues. The institute is a Chinese Government think tank. Below is the translation of the article. [1]

In recent years, along with new changes in the strategy of yhe United States national security and China’s national defense modernization development, the United States has further tightened its control over exports to China using the areas of legislation, list management, the organization establishment, departmental coordination, multilateral systems and so on.

The first change to occur was the revision of regulations on export and re-export licensing for China and expanding the scope of controlled items. In June 2006, the United States officially announced a new export licensing policy for China. The new regulation requires all exports to China to re-apply for a license when the exported merchandise is suspected to be destined for military use in China. The list of items covers 20 product categories and associated technologies and software such as aircraft and aircraft engines, avionics and inertial navigation systems, lasers, and depleted uranium, as described in 31 entries on the Commerce Control List. Controlled categories may be added as needed. Some products that are not originally on the control list may also be included.

The second was to strengthen the control of “deemed exports.” The U.S. government has stipulated Chinese scholars and researchers must apply for a deemed export license when they will have access to sensitive information and technology. This includes American Chinese citizens and foreign corporations that may bring sensitive technology to China. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Commercial Affairs also proposed restricting individuals who were born in the United States but held another country’s citizenship from obtaining U.S. technology. Although, as a result of strong opposition from the academic community and industry associations, it was eventually abolished, the U.S. Department of Commerce still indicates that it will further tighten the deemed export control. At the year-end of 2006, the Department of Commerce established the Deemed Export Advisory Committee (DEAC), which will advise the Secretary of Commerce on export controls for China. In 2006, the U.S. government reviewed 865 deemed export licenses, 60% of which were held by Chinese citizens.

The third was to strengthen the construction of the export control mechanism, enhance control efficiency, set up new coordination organizations, strengthen the management of the blacklist system; and strengthen the “end-user-visit” system.
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The fourth was to strengthen sanctions on corporate and individual violators, both in the United States and foreign countries. This includes the so-called severe punishment of any companies or individual that is suspected of selling sensitive technology to China, strengthening sanctions over foreign corporations, and deliberately bringing public attention to Chinese spy cases. Since 2005, the U.S. has successively brought public attention to the "Mark espionage case," the "Moo Ko-Suen espionage case," and several others. In November 2007, the United State-China Economic and Security Review Commission declared that China has been engaged in espionage to obtain key technologies in the U.S. military industry. It called for immediate action, to conduct comprehensive reviews of China’s “illegal technology transfers,” and to provide additional funding for export control and counter-espionage work.

The fifth was to promote and strengthen multilateral export control systems and obstruct and sabotage the normal military trade and cooperation between China and other countries.

Export control has always been one of the important methods that the United States has employed in maintaining national security and implementation of external strategies. In recent years, the further strengthening of export controls for China has been closely related to the adjustment of the U.S. global security strategy since “911,” and is meant to ultimately serve the U.S. military containment strategy for China.
 
First, the U.S. security concepts went through a fundamental change after “911.”  Anti-terrorism and anti-proliferation have become the core of its global security strategy. The U.S. officials believe export controls for China still have many flaws in the legal system, license approval, and regulation implementation. Some companies have “poor” records. Therefore, it is necessary to implement more restrictive export control policies for China in order to be in compliance with the U.S. “broader national security and diplomatic agenda.”

Next, the United States continues to strengthen the China Containment Policy and ensure its military has technological superiority over China. U.S. officials believe, after entering into the new century, that China’s national defense modernization has accelerated, and China’s national defense foundation industry is approaching or even surpassing the powerful western countries at an unprecedented pace. Certain more advanced technologies like the nuclear industry and man-in-space flight technology have reached the world’s leading level. Therefore, it is necessary for the U.S. to globally prevent advanced military technology and equipment from getting into China, to hinder the modernization advancement of China’s national defense, and to safeguard the U.S. military’s hegemony.
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Thirdly, U.S. existing laws and regulations lag behind and it is difficult for the laws and regulations to catch up with the steps of technical upgrades and proliferation. U.S. officials believe that the U.S. military is no longer the main source of the advanced dual-purpose technology. Now many leading technologies are flowing from private enterprises to the military, which makes it difficult for the government to define military technology and therefore include it in the control list. This makes it more complex for monitoring.  Following the rapid Internet development, the methods of obtaining technical information have become more convenient, and technical proliferation has increased exponentially. Multinational corporations seek investments, production, and sales throughout the world. As a result, production and work process technology flow to overseas subsidiary companies and it is inevitable that dual-purpose technology transfers overseas.

In addition, multilateral export control mechanisms have various holes and problems and need to be amended. After the end of the cold war, priorities in many countries shifted from security to economic welfare and business competition. The U.S. and allied countries differ on export controls. The Wassenaar Arrangement replacing Batumi is the result of such a difference. It does not officially list the countries that are subject to export control, nor has it a strict control mechanism. The organizational structure is extremely loose. A member of the allied countries makes his/her own decisions in carrying out export control based on common control policies and a detailed list, and in granting export licenses. U.S. officials think it is difficult for the above system to monitor the dual-purpose technology exports. “It is time to start the coordination of licensing policies in all countries in order to minimize the differences in international export control systems.” Therefore, the United States urges to revise some provisions, so as to better coordinate member countries’ export licensing policies and close the loopholes of the multilateral export control system.

Endnote:
[1] Xinhua, March 20, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-03/20/content_7824003.htm