Xi Jinping orders Chinese military to prepare for war

Xi Jinping has declared that China will focus on preparing for war amid an increasingly “unstable and uncertain” security environment.

The Chinese President made the comments on Tuesday in a visit to the joint operations command centre of the Central Military Commission in Beijing, where he emphasised enhancing troop training and combat preparedness, according to state media.

China will now comprehensively strengthen its military training and preparation for any war, broadcaster CCTV quoted Xi as saying.

Xi said the “entire military should devote all its energy to and carry out all its work for combat readiness, enhance its capability to fight and win, and effectively fulfil its missions and tasks in the new era”, Xinhua reported.

“Xi instructed the armed forces to thoroughly study, publicise and implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and take concrete actions to further modernise national defence and the military,” the report continued.

“Noting that the world is undergoing more profound changes unseen in a century, Xi stressed that China’s national security is facing increased instability and uncertainty, and its military tasks remain arduous. He demanded that the entire armed forces implement the Party’s thinking on strengthening the military for the new era, follow the military strategy for the new era and adhere to combat effectiveness as the sole criterion.”

The Chinese leader “also instructed them to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and successfully complete various tasks entrusted by the Party and the people”.

The 69-year-old secured a historic third term as China’s President last month while stacking the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee with loyalists, cementing his role as the most powerful leader since Communist Party founder Mao Zedong.

Investors and analysts feared the unveiling of the new leadership team, which had traditionally been made up of representatives from all factions of the party, was a signal that Beijing was pivoting towards military and state power rather than business-friendly policies.

The Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress also enshrined in the party’s constitution opposition to Taiwanese independence.

Beijing has always pledged to re-take the self-ruled democratic island, by force if necessary — and Xi’s announcement on Tuesday has raised fears that an invasion may be imminent.

“Comments like this from Xi Jinping are extremely concerning,” Dr Alan Mendoza from London-based human rights group the Henry Jackson Society told the Daily Mail.

Mendoza said if China were to be hit with the same level of sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, the global community “must be ready for the economic upheaval caused as a result”.

China staged live-fire military drills in six self-declared zones surrounding Taiwan in response to a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Photo / AP

“If we do not prepare, the economic ramifications will be a drop in the ocean compared to the current cost-of-living crisis caused by the sanctions against Russian energy,” he said.

Tensions between Beijing and the West remain at an all-time high, with Australia caught in the middle.

Earlier this year, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s historic visit to Taiwan sparked fury from Beijing, which responded with nearly a week of live-fire military exercises around the island.

A senior US admiral said last month that America needed to be ready to respond to a potential invasion of Taiwan as early as this year.

That was followed by news that the US was planning to deploy nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the northern Australia.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said by planning to send the bombers to Australia, the US had “increased regional tensions, seriously undermined regional peace and stability, and may trigger a regional arms race”.

“Defence and security cooperation between any countries should be conducive to regional peace and stability and not target or harm the interests of third parties,” he told reporters in Beijing.

On Tuesday, however, China’s Foreign Minister called for the “rebuilding of mutual trust” in a phone conversation with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong.

“For years, Xi has been ratcheting up his rhetoric around the use of military force to reunify Taiwan with mainland China, and in response, the West has done very little. Liberal democracies must now take him at his word, and work collectively, using all means necessary to deter Xi from invading Taiwan.”

He added, “As a priority, Western nations must begin the process of removing all Chinese influence from critical industries such as energy, water and nuclear power. Next, we must immediately start the process of decoupling China from many of our most relied upon supply chain networks and develop new ones with like-minded partner nations.”

Australia and China maintained virtually no high-level communication during the Covid-19 pandemic when Beijing slapped a trade embargo on billions of dollars worth of Australian goods in retaliation for Canberra urging an independent probe into the origins of the virus.

China has previously demanded Australia address its grievances as a precondition to improving ties, with Beijing’s ambassador quoting foreign minister Wang Yi as saying “a reset requires concrete actions”.

But Wang has met Australia’s Foreign Minister twice this year — an indication that ties are thawing gradually since a new centre-left government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took power in May.

“The easing and improvement of China-Australia relations serves the fundamental interests of both sides,” Wang said, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout of Tuesday’s call.

Both countries should “promote the rebuilding of mutual trust … gradually address their legitimate concerns and jointly make positive contributions to addressing current global challenges”, Wang added.

Analysts believe a possible meeting between the Chinese and Australian leaders may take place on the sidelines of next week’s G20 summit in Bali.

Xi is also likely to have his first face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden at the summit, as the superpowers contend with deteriorating ties over a range of issues.