The Resolution of the CCP Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization (hereinafter referred to as the Resolution) adopted at the Third Plenum of the 20th Party Central Committee proposed that we must deepen cross-military reform. This is a strategic deployment made by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core to coordinate development and security, enrich the country, and strengthen the military, and to focus on accelerating the modernization of national defense and the military. It is a major measure to consolidate and expand the achievements of national defense and military reform and create a new situation in the reform and strengthening of the military. All parties must thoroughly study and understand the strategic considerations of the Party Central Committee, grasp the important significance and practical requirements of deepening cross-military reforms, and complete various reform tasks with high standards. 

I. Significant achievements have been made in cross-military reforms in the new era 

Since the 18th Party Congress, our Party has focused on achieving the Party’s goal of building a strong military in the new era, incorporated the deepening of national defense and military reforms into the overall plan of deepening reform comprehensively, and led the most extensive and profound national defense and military reforms since the founding of New China. In this great transformation, the Party Central Committee has regarded cross-military reform as an important part, strengthened top-level design, cross-domain coordination, and coordinated promotion, and achieved a series of important theoretical, institutional, and practical results. 

(a) We have improved the leadership management system for coordinating economic and national defense construction. We have focused on forming an integrated national strategy system and capabilities, built a leadership management system that coordinates economic and national defense construction, reshaped the organizational management system, work operation system, and policy and institution system, and promoted coordinated, balanced, and compatible development of economic and national defense construction. We have built a Party leadership system that takes overall charge of and coordinates all parties in the field of national defense development, strengthened the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over national defense development, especially national defense S&T and weapons and equipment construction, and given full play to China’s institutional advantages and the advantages of the new structure for leveraging national capabilities to promote national defense construction. 

(b) We have built a service and assurance system for retired military personnel. We have focused on safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of military personnel and their families, made military personnel a profession respected by the whole society, established a centralized and unified management and support system for veterans with clear responsibilities, set up the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, established leading and administrative bodies for veterans affairs at the county level and above, built six levels of veterans service centers from the national level to the village (community) level, issued the Veterans Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China, formulated supporting policies on placement and employment, preferential treatment and commendation, and services and guarantees, and formed a veterans work pattern with vertical linkages, horizontal coordination, and combined nationwide efforts. 

(c) We adjusted the leadership and command system and force structure of the armed police force. In accordance with the principle of the military being the military, the police being the police, and the civilians being the civilians, the armed police force was adjusted to be under the organizational structure of the CMC and is now under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee and the CMC, further strengthening the Party’s absolute leadership over the armed forces throughout the country. The gold, forestry, and hydropower units of the Armed Police have been transferred as a whole to relevant functional departments of the state and reorganized into non-active professional teams. The public security border, fire, and guard forces are no longer included in the Armed Police force lineup and have all been withdrawn from active service. We have formed the China Coast Guard. Through adjustments and reforms, the functions of the armed police force have become more focused, and the leadership and command system and force system have been optimized. 

(d) We have adjusted the national defense mobilization system and air traffic management system. We have implemented the reform of the national defense mobilization system, scientifically allocated the national defense mobilization functions of the Party, government, and military systems, optimized and reorganized the national, provincial, municipal, and county national defense mobilization committees, adjusted and established relevant service agencies, established a cross-military coordination mechanism for national defense mobilization command and utilization, and formed a new national defense mobilization pattern in which the military and localities perform their respective duties and work closely together under the leadership of the Party. We have implemented air traffic control system reform, established relevant leadership and service agencies at the central and local levels, and accelerated the optimization of the national air traffic management system. In addition, we have implemented adjustments and reforms to the reserve forces, and launched a series of reform measures in the areas of social support for the military and collaborative military-civilian innovation in S&T, achieving solid results. 

(e) We have completely stopped the military’s paid services and reshaped the military’s asset management order. We have focused on maintaining the nature and character of the People’s Liberation Army, promoted the troops to focus on their main task of preparing for war, and completely stopped the paid service activities carried out by military organs, troops, and affiliated institutions at all levels. We have basically realized the goal of the army not engaging in business activities and achieved significant political, military, economic and social effects. We have innovated the military asset management model, explored ways to centrally manage military assets and replace military and local assets, and promoted the intensive use, marketized operation, and professionalized development of military asset resources. 

II. Recognize the importance of deepening cross-military reform 

Reform is a never-ending road. On the new journey of comprehensively promoting the construction of a strong nation and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization, facing the complex struggle situation and fierce military competition, we must continue to deepen national defense and military reforms with more resolute determination and will, constantly improve the leadership management system and mechanisms of the People’s Army and the joint combat system, deepen cross-military reform, and enhance the strategic capabilities to defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests. The importance of deepening cross-military reform can be understood by considering three aspects. 

(a) This is an important part of advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. Upholding and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and basically realizing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity by 2035 are the strategic tasks and important goals of our Party. After this round of national defense and military reforms, some institutions and mechanisms and policy and system issues in the national defense field have been effectively resolved, injecting strong impetus into national defense construction and providing powerful assurance. At the same time, with the changes in the national security situation and the development of the practice of building a strong nation and a strong military, national defense construction has encountered many new situations, and some contradictions and problems have gradually emerged, mainly concentrated in the intersections, connection points, and coordination links between the military and localities. The Resolution plans and promotes reforms in various fields such as the economy, politics, culture, society, ecological civilization, military, and foreign affairs as a whole, and makes deepening cross-military reform a key point in continuously deepening national defense and military reforms. The purpose is to resolve deep-seated institutional and mechanism obstacles and structural contradictions, make relevant systems for national defense construction more scientific and more complete, and adapt to and coordinate with national governance. 

(b) We must promote the simultaneous increase of national defense strength and economic strength. Scientifically arranging the relationship between economic construction and national defense construction is a major issue that must be properly handled in order to promote Chinese-style modernization. At present, the global S&T revolution, industrial revolution, and military revolution are accelerating, and the interlinkages relationship between national strategic competitiveness, social productivity, and military combat effectiveness are growing closer. In particular, emerging fields such as space, cyberspace, and AI have the same technological sources, the same industry roots, and the same path, providing important opportunities for enhancing both national defense and economic strength. To consolidate and improve the integrated national strategy system and capabilities, we must use more powerful institutional arrangements and guarantees to promote the deep integration of national defense construction into economic and social development and promote the efficient integration and two-way mutual driving of new productive forces and new combat effectiveness. To deepen cross-military reform, we must continuously adjust relevant systems, optimize work mechanisms, strengthen strategic planning coordination, policy and system alignment, and resource factor sharing, and promote full integration of the strategic layout, the full integration of strategic resources, and the integrated use of strategic forces in various fields, and especially emerging fields. 

(c) This is an inherent requirement for promoting the high-quality development of national defense and the military. President Xi pointed out that to accelerate the modernization of national defense and the military, high-quality development must be given top priority. At present, national defense and military construction are at a critical stage of improving quality and efficiency. To achieve the centennial objectives of the army’s founding and accelerate the modernization of national defense and the military, we must adhere to overall coordination, systematic construction, and system-based governance, coordinate the promotion of governance in various fields, end-to-end governance, governance at all levels, and cross-military governance, and promote high-quality development through high-level governance. Comprehensively strengthening military governance represents a profound change in our Party’s military governance concepts and methods, and reform is an important driving force for comprehensively strengthening military governance. To deepen cross-military reforms, we must implement the concept of governance, further improve relevant organizational systems and operating systems, streamline relationships, clarify functions, and smooth out connections, strengthen cross-military and cross-field coordination, and form a cross-military work pattern in which everyone has their own responsibilities and collaborate closely with standardized and orderly processes, improve cross-military governance capacity, and improve the operational efficiency of the military system and the efficiency of the use of national defense resources. 

III. Grasp the major measures to deepen cross-military reform 

The Resolution makes clear deployments for deepening cross-military reform and arranges key reform tasks for the current and future period. It requires all levels to accurately understand and grasp them and fully implement them, with particular attention to the following three major initiatives. 

(a) We must improve the integrated national strategy system and capacity building working mechanisms. Consolidating and improving the integrated national strategy system and capabilities is a strategic move to cope with complex security threats and gain national development advantages. Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, major progress has been made in building an integrated national strategy system and capabilities, the institutions, mechanisms, and policies have been comprehensively reshaped, and solid steps have been taken in coordinated development in key regions, key areas, and emerging areas. In the next step, we must focus on optimizing relevant work mechanisms and improving the level of cross-military coordination. We must improve the decision-making, deliberation, and coordination institutions and mechanisms for military-related matters, improve the mechanism for reporting military needs for national defense construction and cross-military alignment, improve the overall coordination mechanism for military standardization work, and promote the rapid and efficient transformation of China’s comprehensive strength into advanced combat effectiveness. 

(b) We must optimize the national defense S&T industry system and layout. A strong national defense S&T industry is an important support for national defense and military modernization, and is the foundation for improving new combat effectiveness. Since the 18th Party Congress, the overall strength and core competitiveness of the Chinese national defense S&T industry have significantly improved, but the foundation is still insufficiently solid, and capabilities such as R&D, production, continuous supply, independent controllability, and peacetime-wartime conversion are not yet in line with the needs of the national security strategy. We must deepen the reform of the national defense S&T industry system, improve the construction management and operation mechanisms, improve the weapons and equipment procurement system, smooth the connections from the generation of combat requirements to the supply of weapons and equipment, and build a modernized weapons and equipment management system. We must further optimize the layout of the national defense S&T industry, improve the competitive selection and positive incentive mechanisms, strengthen the construction of core military industry capabilities, and build a robust and resilient national defense S&T industry system. 

(c) We must optimize the leadership management system and mechanisms for border and coastal defense. In accordance with the development of and changes in the national security environment, China’s border and coastal defense leadership management system has generally gone through the stages of military-led management after the founding of New China, military-civilian division of labor in management in the 1970s, and military-civilian division of labor and cooperation under the coordination of the Central Leading Group for Border Defense in the 1980s. The National Border Defense Committee was established in 1991 and renamed the National Border and Coastal Defense Committee in 2005. This system continues to be used to this day. While it has effectively maintained China’s border and coastal security, it also faces problems such as an incomplete organizational system for border and coastal defense work, unclear military and local responsibilities, and incomplete laws and regulations. In the next step, we will focus on strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over border and coastal defense, optimizing the leadership management system and mechanisms for border and coastal defense, improving the mechanisms for joint border management by the Party, government, military, police, and civilians, enhancing our comprehensive capabilities for strengthening borders and defense, and providing strong guarantees for building a strong and stable modern border and coastal defense. 

IV. Jointly deepen the implementation of cross-military reform tasks 

President Xi pointed out that reform involves both destruction and construction. If we follow the correct rules, we can achieve twice as much with half the effort. If we do not follow the rules, we will only achieve half or may even achieve less than nothing, while working twice as hard. Cross-military reform covers a wide range of areas and involves many departments. We must strengthen political guidance and organizational leadership and implement reforms with a spirit of perseverance. 

(a) We must persist in being problem-oriented. Persisting in being problem-oriented is a distinctive feature of reform and an important experience of reform. To deepen cross-military reform, we must focus on problems, find ways to solve them, and make efforts to resolve deep-seated contradictions and problems. In advancing each reform task, we should identify the root causes and key issues that constrain national defense and military modernization, focus on the main contradictions and major aspects of the contradictions, break down the old and establish the new in areas of institutional shortcomings, build on our strengths and address our weaknesses in areas with mechanism shortcomings, clear the blockages where there are policy obstacles, break through barriers where there are interests involved, and effectively enhance the targeted and effective nature of reforms. 

(b) We must persist in systematic advancement. Cross-military reform involves multiple military and civilian aspects and is related to many development and security factors. We must strengthen overall planning and coordination and enhance the systematic, holistic, and coordinated nature of the reforms. We should coordinate the research and demonstration, plan formulation, and organization and implementation of various reforms, clarify priorities, grasp the timing, degree, and effect, and achieve a unity of overall advancement and key breakthroughs. In advancing cross-military reform, we must not only grasp the particulars of this reform, but also consider its relevance to other reforms. We must ensure that cross-military reform moves in the same direction and resonates at the same frequency as other reforms. 

(c) We must be proactive and prudent. Some major military-civilian reform measures have a far-reaching impact, so we must adhere to the general working principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability and promote their implementation in a proactive, solid and steady manner, and circumspect and prudent manner. We must focus on building up the new before breaking down the old, be bold and enterprising in strategy, be steady and circumspect in tactics, master the pace of reform, and control the risks of reform. Some reforms involve complex relations among interests. We must not only strengthen our awareness of progress, opportunities, and responsibilities and have the courage to break through inappropriate interest structures, but also be attentive to methods and strategies and properly handle the contradictions and problems encountered in the reform. 

(d) We must uphold linkages between the military and localities. The deeper cross-military reform advances, the more difficult the problems it will encounter, and the more it will require all military and local parties to shoulder their due responsibilities and work together to overcome bottlenecks and difficulties in the reforms. All relevant departments and units should strengthen their awareness of the overall situation, be adept at appraising costs and benefits when it comes to major, general, and long-term things, and ensure that the local is subordinated to the overall situation and the individual elements are subordinated to the system. We must strengthen military-civilian consultation and linking, with the units with primary responsibility taking the initiative and participating units actively cooperating to ensure the implementation of all work in accordance with the division of responsibilities. We must focus on mobilizing and giving full play to the enthusiasm and creativity of all parties, listen extensively to opinions and suggestions, and maximize our combined wisdom and strength to deepen cross-military reform.