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China Vows to Build Modern Army
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is speeding up its technological modernization, and remarkable achievements have been attained in this respect, according to a senior army official.
Promoting military technologies is the top priority of the military modernization, said Senior Colonel Su Zhirong, who is also a research fellow with the Academy of Military Science of the PLA.
China reconstructed its national defense industry in 1999 and established 10 sectors including the nuclear industry, aviation, shipping and weaponry.
Around 1000 award-winning scientific breakthroughs have been introduced to the ground forces, greatly promoting their self- defense capabilities and the accuracy of long-distance strike. The navy and air forces have also improved their readiness by employing high-tech systems.
The Chinese army is purely to pursue self-defense and will not pose a threat to other countries. "The Chinese army will never take part in any arms race, or will it seek hegemony or external expansion," Su said, quoted by Wednesday's China Daily.
Su said the country's military budget has been increasing at 6.2 percent annually for the last decade and a half, even slower than the average yearly inflation of 7.3 percent.
To improve the quality of its staff, the army has signed contracts with top universities such as Peking University and Tsinghua University. According to the contracts, the army gives financial aid to university students who in turn agree to serve the army after graduation.
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