Military, civilians must unleash their joint power

China has to make greater efforts to integrate military and civilian industries, as it will further boost the economy, strengthen the national defense sector, and mark an important achievement of the comprehensive reforms over the past five years, reiterated President Xi Jinping, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The military-civilian integration is an inevitable choice and effective strategy for a rising power to cope with resource, growth and security issues. In March 2015, Xi said the military-civilian integration has been elevated to a national strategy. In essence, military and civilian integration signifies reasonable distribution of national resources between the economy and defense sector. In peacetime, a major part of the resources are invested in the economy for the benefit of the people, while during wars more resources are diverted to the defense sector.

The military's combat capability consists of personnel, weapons, facilities and equipment, logistical support, intelligence, a command system, military theories, technologies including information and communications technology, and funds. Some of these resources now come from civilian enterprises, reflecting the importance of military-civilian integration to cope with complicated national security issues and improve the military's combat capabilities.