Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the need for the recruitment of new talent to support the rapid modernisation of the armed forces and win future wars amid reports that the military has committed more resources to enrol three lakh personnel for frontline positions.
Talent holds the key to advancing the high-quality development of the Chinese armed forces, achieving victory in the military competition, and gaining the upper hand in future wars, Xi, who heads the military, the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the presidency, said at a conference on military talent-related work held from Friday to Sunday.
With a whopping USD 209 billion annual military budget, the Chinese military is modernising rapidly, carrying out organisational reforms and adding new weapon systems, including hypersonic weapons. According to the US military, China recently launched a long-range missile that went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China and came close to hitting the target. Xi said new talent was needed to lend solid support to the realisation of the goals set for the centenary of the People’s Liberation Army that falls in 2027.