Overview
- Xi told senior Politburo and military leaders on Friday to intensify anti‑graft work in the People’s Liberation Army and to speed the modernisation of national defence.
- He called specifically for building an ‘intelligent’ force that expands unmanned systems and strengthens cyber and information capabilities as measures of combat effectiveness.
- Xi tied the reforms to political control, saying the armed forces must always obey the Communist Party’s command and that loyalty is part of evaluating readiness.
- Independent analysts and prior reports have found that large corruption purges have damaged PLA command cohesion and fighting readiness, a challenge the leadership says the new push must fix.
- The Politburo timing highlights the run up to the PLA’s Aug. 1, 2026 99th anniversary and signals Beijing’s aim to show progress on capability and control while US intelligence judges an invasion of Taiwan in 2027 unlikely.