Deng Xiaoping’s Military Thinking on Army Building in the New Period

It refers to the thoughts on army building in the new period creatively summarized and put forward by Deng Xiaoping in the historical process of developing the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is an important part of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the inheritance and development of Mao Zedong's military thoughts, as well as the fundamental basis and guidelines for the modernization of the army and national defense in the new period, which points out the direction and path for the army and national defense building. Deng Xiaoping's thoughts on army building in the new period is mainly reflected in 11 aspects: (1) The guiding ideology of the army and national defense building shall undergo a strategic change; (2) The army must follow the overall situation of national construction; (3) The army must take up the historic responsibility of safeguarding national sovereignty and security; (4) Implement a military strategy of active defense; (5) Construct a powerful, modern, and regular revolutionary army; (6) Unswervingly adhere to the nature of the people's army; (7) The core is to solve the problems of modernization; (8) Improve the level of regularization of army building; (9) Elevate education and training to a strategic position; (10) Unswervingly follow the road of fewer but better troops with Chinese characteristics; (11) The army and national defense building is the cause of the entire Party and the people of the country.

Deng Xiaoping pointed out that peace and development are correct judgments of two major issues in the contemporary world, which laid a theoretical foundation for the strategic transformation of our army's guiding ideology. Linking the issues of peace and development to China ’s socialist modernization, and then to the army and national defense building, is one of the basic starting points for Deng Xiaoping to establish the development path of contemporary China and guide the army and national defense building in the new period. To correctly understand the issue of peace and development, we must first make a new judgment on the issue of war and peace. Deng Xiaoping pointed out that China held a view for a long period in the past that war is inevitable. But after long-term observation, we have changed this view. Practices since the Reform and Opening-up have proven that Deng Xiaoping’s new judgment on the issue of war and peace has extremely important strategic guiding significance for national construction and army building. Building a powerful, modern and regular revolutionary army is the core content of Deng Xiaoping's thoughts on army building in the new period, and the general goal and task of our army building in the new period.

In 1981, Deng Xiaoping proposed that our army is a strong pillar of the people's democratic dictatorship and shoulders the glorious mission of defending the socialist motherland and the construction of the four modernizations. Therefore, we must build our army into a powerful, modern, regular revolutionary army. Strengthening the revolutionization requires the army to uphold the Party’s absolute leadership, and the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, and unswervingly maintain the revolutionary nature of the people’s army. Focusing on modernization requires striving to adapt to the requirements of modern warfare, comprehensively improve the quality of officers and soldiers, continuously improve the scientific and technological content of army building, and increase the overall combat capability and level under modernization. Regularization requires the army to adhere to the fundamental principles of governing the army according to law and with strict discipline, regulate all aspects of army building with regulations, and promote army building to gradually embark on an institutionalized and legalized development road. In terms of methodology, Deng Xiaoping inherited and developed Mao Zedong's thoughts on historical materialism of seeking truth from facts and military dialectics.

Deng Xiaoping emphasized that from the perspective of the existing problems and the actual situation of the army, the most important is to study and solve the problem of how to restore and carry forward the fine tradition of political work under the new historical conditions and improve the combat effectiveness of our army. That is, to study and analyze and solve practical problems in accordance with the teaching of Comrade Mao Zedong on seeking truth from facts. Deng Xiaoping’s thoughts on army building in the new period mainly answered the question of how to create a road of fewer but better troops with Chinese characteristics and build a powerful, modern and regular revolutionary army under the historical conditions of peace and development becoming the theme of the times and the country implementing the Reform and Opening-up. It combines Marxism with the reality of our army, puts forward the principles for strengthening army building in the new period, enriches and develops Mao Zedong’s military thoughts, and plays a long-term guiding role in army building.