Chinese president Xi Jinping orders combat testing of military equipment

The Chinese military has begun combat-oriented testing and assessment of its weapon systems following President Xi Jinping's order to perform in the real battle conditions, the official media here reported on Monday.

Xi, 68, who heads the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) the overall high command of the two million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA), recently signed an order promulgating a set of regulations on the testing and assessment of military equipment, which stressed efficient, combat-oriented tests under the development trend of "informatisation and intelligentisation" throughout the equipment's entire life spans.

The regulations raised higher requirements for weapons and equipment to be used by the PLA and will contribute to boosting the troops' combat capabilities, official media reported.

The new regulations come at a time when China is facing a drastic change in global security structures and is forced to enhance preparedness for possible military conflicts, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the state-run Global Times.

In order to have weapons and equipment to play their intended roles in real combat, they must go through tests and assessments in realistic, diverse and complex battlefield environments, Song said.

The new regulations are of significance in that they are expected to set higher standards and requirements for weapons and equipment to be used by the PLA, so the weapons and equipment can further boost the troops' combat capabilities and win wars, Song said.

Xi, who is also General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China, has been placing more emphasis on the combat readiness of the PLA ever since he came to power in 2012, last month issued a new mobilisation order for the training of armed forces which warrants them to focus on developing elite forces capable of winning wars and fearing neither death nor hardships.

In his order, Xi said the armed forces must closely follow the evolution of technology, warfare and rivals, redouble their efforts to better combine training with combat operations, and strengthen systematic training and the use of technologies to develop an elite force that is capable of fighting and winning wars.