China’s military: Its three major flaws and how Xi is trying to fix them

China’s military is not a real army - it’s the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party. Ideology is paramount and corruption is endemic. 

Plus, the People’s Liberation Army hasn’t fought a war since 1979. Xi Jinping calls it “the peace disease”. 

In episode two of this three-part series, Venetia Rainey looks at the PLA’s weaknesses and how the Chinese president Xi is trying to fix them, from endless purges of top generals to a specially built training centre in Mongolia and live-fire drills around Taiwan. 

This series on China’s military dives into the strengths and weaknesses of China’s military and its remarkable transformation over the last few decades from obsolete to world-class.

How significant is China’s military buildup? What does Xi Jinping’s ongoing purge mean for the People’s Liberation Army? And how likely is an invasion of Taiwan in the next few years? 

As the US pivots to the Indo-Pacific and the threat of a truly global war looms, understanding the evolving role of China’s military on the world stage has never been more important.

Listen to episode one of this series on China's military here. 

With thanks to Dr Phillip Saunders and Joel Wuthnow from the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, Oriana Skylar Mastro from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, Meia Nouwens from the China Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Timothy Heath at RAND,  and Amanda Hsiao at Eurasia Group.

Archive used: WION, SBS News, PBS News Hour, Channel 4, NATO, DRM News, Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, Reuters

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