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Understanding the tenets of the People's Republic of China's (PRC’s) national strategy is essential to understanding the drivers of China's security and military strategy. This, in turn, offers insights on the current and future course of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) reform and modernization in terms of its strength, technological advances, organization, and operational concepts—all of which could offer PRC leaders expanded military options to support its national goals.
CHINA'S NATIONAL STRATEGY
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The PRC's national strategy is to achieve "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" by 2049. The strategy is a determined pursuit of political, social, and military modernity to expand the PRC's national power, perfect its governance, and revise the international order in support of the PRC's system of governance and national interests. The PRC views the United States as deploying a whole-of-government effort meant to contain the PRC's rise, which presents obstacles to its national strategy.
- The PRC characterizes its view of strategic competition in terms of a rivalry among powerful nation states as well as a clash of opposing ideological systems. PRC leaders believe that structural changes in the international system and confrontational United States are the root causes of intensifying strategic competition between the PRC and the United States.
- The PRC's strategy entails deliberate and determined efforts to amass, improve, and harness the internal and external elements of national power that will place the PRC in a "leading position" in an enduring competition between systems.
The PRC's strategy aims to realize "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." This objective, which General Secretary Xi Jinping (also referred to as Chairman of the Central Military Commission or President of the PRC, depending on the context of his responsibilities) calls "the Chinese Dream," is a national aspiration to elevate the PRC to a position of strength, prosperity, and leadership on the world stage.
PRC leaders characterize their strategy to achieve political, social, and economic modernity—as defined by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP or Party)—as a grand national endeavor that is sweeping in scope and far-reaching in how it will transform the PRC and, in turn, the world. The
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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China
