Jinping asks PLA's new military unit to be combat ready

Chinese President Xi Jinping has the ordered the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) newly established 84 large military units to prepare themselves for combat and give priority to building 'new-type' of fighting capabilities.

Xi, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), met commanders of these new units at the commission's headquarters in Beijing yesterday.

In PLA terminology new-type fighting capabilities generally refers to capabilities of engaging in electronic, information and space operations.

"The new units must prepare themselves for combat and study wars. They should concentrate on improving their joint operation capabilities and technology level," China Daily quoted Xi as saying.

The emergence of such units came after Xi ordered the military's structure to be adjusted and optimized, calling for a smaller but capable and flexible military at a Central Military Commission conference in December.

The call for a reform began in November 2015, when the CMC unveiled a blueprint for the army's development.

Since then, the PLA has set up a headquarters for its Ground Force, founded a Strategic Support Force dedicated to electronic, information and space operations, and established a Rocket Force to replace the former Second Artillery Corps.

The previous four top PLA departments-staff, politics, logistics and armaments-were dismantled.