Information Office of the State Council

“ Pulling together in the time of trouble, seeking mutual benefit and engaging in win-win cooperation are the only ways for humankind to achieve common development and prosperity.
China has now stood at a new historical point, and its future and destiny has never been more closely connected with those of the international community. In the face of shared opportunities and common challenges, China maintains its commitment to the new security concepts of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination. ”

“ China unswervingly pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and promotes friendly cooperation with all countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China unswervingly maintains its fine cultural traditions and its belief in valuing peace above all else, advocating the settlement of disputes through peaceful means, prudence on the issue of war, and the strategy of "attacking only after being attacked." China will never seek hegemony, nor will it adopt the approach of military expansion now or in the future, no matter how its economy develops. ”

“ In accordance with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws, the armed forces of China undertake the sacred duty of resisting foreign aggression, defending the motherland, and safeguarding overall social stability and the peaceful labor of its people. To build a fortified national defense and strong armed forces compatible with national security and development interests is a strategic task of China's modernization, and a common cause of the people of all ethnic groups. ”

“ China's territorial air defense system stands on permanent alert. It keeps track of any developments in the air, preserves air traffic order, organizes combat air patrols, handles air emergencies, and resolutely defends China's sovereignty over its territorial air and its air security. ”

“ With political mutual trust as the groundwork and common security as the goal, China is promoting the establishment of equal, mutually beneficial and effective mechanisms for military confidence-building, which should be based on the principles of holding consultations on an equal footing, mutual respect for core interests and recognition of major security concerns, not targeting at any third country, and not threatening or harming other countries' security and stability. ”

“ Steady progress is being made in the establishment of mechanisms for management of the global economy and finance. G20 is playing a more outstanding role. The international spotlight has turned to the reform of the UN and other international political and security systems. Profound realignments have taken place in international relations; economic interdependence among various countries has been enhanced; shared challenges have been increasing; and communication, coordination and cooperation have become mainstream in relationships among the world's major powers. ”

“ China has vigorously maintained national security and social stability, and its comprehensive national strength has stepped up to a new stage. It has strengthened coordination and cooperation with major traditional powers and emerging countries, reinforced good-neighborly friendship and practical cooperation with neighboring countries, and extended mutually benefiting cooperation with other developing countries. China has played a unique role in collective action with other countries to meet global challenges. ”

“ Bearing in mind the primary goal of accomplishing mechanization and attaining major progress in informationization by 2020, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) perseveres with mechanization as the foundation and informationization as the driving force, making extensive use of its achievements in information technology, and stepping up the composite and integrated development of mechanization and informationization. The PLA has expanded and made profound preparations for military struggle, which serve as both pull and impetus to the overall development of modernization. ”

“ World economic recovery remains fragile and imbalanced. Security threats posed by such global challenges as terrorism, economic insecurity, climate change, nuclear proliferation, insecurity of information, natural disasters, public health concerns, and transnational crime are on the rise. Traditional security concerns blend with non-traditional ones and domestic concerns interact with international security ones, making it hard for traditional security approaches and mechanisms to respond effectively to the various security issues and challenges in the world. ”

“ Reserve officers and men are required to devote 240 hours to political education and military training each year. To be able to respond to emergencies in peacetime and to fight in war, the focus of the reserve force is shifting from quantity and scale to quality and efficiency, from a combat role to a support role, and from the provision of general-purpose soldiers to soldiers with special skills. It is working to become an efficient auxiliary to the active force and a strong component of the national defense reserve. ”

“ China unswervingly advances its reform and opening up as well as socialist modernization, making use of the peaceful international environment for its own development which in return will contribute to world peace. ”

“ Major powers are stepping up the realignment of their security and military strategies, accelerating military reform, and vigorously developing new and more sophisticated military technologies. Some powers have worked out strategies for outer space, cyber space and the polar regions, developed means for prompt global strikes, accelerated development of missile defense systems, enhanced cyber operations capabilities to occupy new strategic commanding heights. Some developing countries maintain the push towards strengthening their armed forces, and press on with military modernization. ”

“ Following the principles of serving the purpose of helping the recipient state enhance its capability for legitimate self-defense, not impairing the peace, security and stability of the relevant region or the world as a whole, and not interfering in the recipient state's internal affairs, China sets up a franchising system for the enterprises permitted to export military products, practices a licensing system for military product export, and strictly abides by its policies and laws on non-proliferation. ”

“ Strengthening the building of combat forces. Catering to the needs of the military's informationization, the PLA reforms and improves its leadership and command systems, adjusts and optimizes the organization and structure of combat forces, deploys new types of combat and support forces, gives priority to the building of land, maritime and air task formations, speeds up the transformation of various arms and services, and raises the level of modularized grouping and combined employment, so as to form a system of streamlined, joint, multi-functional and efficient system of combat forces. ”

“ National defense science and technology labs as well as research and application centers for advanced technologies have been playing a vital role in both basic and applied research. A long-term mechanism for quality control has been established to reinforce quality supervision, resulting in a steady improvement in the overall quality of products. Technological infrastructure for the defense industry, such as standards and measurements, has been established to provide better support capabilities to weaponry and equipment research and production. ”

“ China has always treated combined military, police and civilian efforts as a strong guarantee for consolidating border and coastal defenses and developing border and coastal areas. In recent years, China has steadily improved a border and coastal defense force system featuring the PLA as the mainstay, the coordination and cooperation of other relevant forces, and the extensive participation of the militia, the reserve forces and the people in the border and coastal areas. ”

“ Steady progress has been achieved in national economic mobilization. China has given priority to the requirements of national defense in building major infrastructure projects, and has continuously improved the compatibility of military and civilian key technologies and products. It has laid out a basic framework for generating capabilities in national economic mobilization, with key industries and major enterprises as the mainstay and important products and technologies as the links. ”

“ As factors conducive to maintaining peace and containing conflict continue to grow, mankind can look forward to a future that on the whole is bright.
The international security situation has become more complex. International strategic competition centering on international order, comprehensive national strength and geopolitics has intensified. Contradictions continue to surface between developed and developing countries and between traditional and emerging powers, while local conflicts and regional flashpoints are a recurrent theme. ”

“ China attaches great importance to defense and security consultations with neighboring countries. It has established mechanisms for defense and security consultation and policy dialogue with neighboring countries, including Mongolia, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, India and Pakistan, and has held regular consultations and dialogues at different levels with its neighbors, which focus on Asia-Pacific security, bilateral military relations and regional flashpoint issues. ”

“ In recent years, following the principles of unified leadership, public participation, long-term preparations, priority to key projects, overall planning, all-round consideration, orderliness and high-efficiency, China has integrated its defense mobilization building with general social and economic development, gradually improving its capabilities in rapid mobilization, moving swiftly from a peacetime to wartime footing, and sustained support and comprehensive protection. ”

“ Transportation mobilization for national defense is making steady and orderly progress. China is working to integrate combat-readiness as an element in the national transportation grid, and improve capabilities in strategic lines of communication support, strategic projection support, and rush transportation and rapid repair. Priority has been given to a number of projects that combine military and civilian purposes, giving impetus to an overall improvement in transportation combat-readiness for national defense. ”

“ China maintains that the global missile defense program will be detrimental to international strategic balance and stability, will undermine international and regional security, and will have a negative impact on the process of nuclear disarmament. China holds that no state should deploy overseas missile defense systems that have strategic missile defense capabilities or potential, or engage in any such international collaboration. ”

“ The peaceful development of cross-Strait relations accords with the interests and aspirations of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, and is widely applauded by the international community.
China is meanwhile confronted by more diverse and complex security challenges. China has vast territories and territorial seas. It is in a critical phase of the building of a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way. ”

“ Personnel expenses mainly cover salaries, allowances, housing, insurance, food, bedding and clothing for officers, non-ranking officers, enlisted men and contracted civilians. Training and maintenance expenses mainly cover troop training, institutional education, construction and maintenance of installations and facilities, and other expenses on routine consumables. Equipment expenses mainly cover R&D, experimentation, procurement, maintenance, transportation and storage of weaponry and equipment. Defense expenditure covers costs to support the active forces, reserve forces, and militia. ”

“ It holds that the authority, effectiveness and universality of the international non-proliferation regime should be upheld and enhanced. The international community should ensure fairness and prevent discrimination in international non-proliferation efforts, strike a balance between non-proliferation and the peaceful use of science and technology, and abandon double standards. ”

“ The armed forces of China act as the shock force in emergency rescue and disaster relief. In January 2009, with the armed forces as the mainstay, China formed eight state-level emergency-response professional units, boasting a total of 50,000 personnel, specializing in flood control and emergency rescue, earthquake rescue, nuclear, biological and chemical emergency rescue, urgent air transportation, rapid road repair, maritime emergency search and rescue, emergency mobile communication support, and medical aid and epidemic prevention. ”