The PLA at Home and Abroad - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

CHAPTER 10
EMERGING GRAND STRATEGY FOR
CHINA’S DEFENSE INDUSTRY REFORM
Eric Hagt
THE DECISION TO PURSUE CMI
China has embarked on yet another round of transformative
change to its defense industrial complex.
The Chinese leadership’s strategic sights are set on
civil-military integration (CMI [军民一体化]) as the
centerpiece of future defense reform. 1 The decision to
pursue CMI is the result of a decade of intensive study
of international trends and a comprehensive self-assessment
that past efforts to retool the industry have
not met the needs of the Chinese People’s Liberation
Army (PLA) in preparing for future warfare. 2
The government’s long-term commitment to CMI
appears firm. Since the 3rd Plenum of the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP)’s 16th Party Congress in 2003
when defense industry transformation and CMI was
included as a strategic goal for China’s national economic
development, all major political and defense
documents have since reiterated these goals. 3 Also
importantly, CMI is deeply embedded in China’s Medium
and Long term National Plan for Science and
Technology Development 2006-2020. The plan not
only stresses CMI as a primary goal, but approximately
half of the 16 items prioritized for development in
this document have clear civil-military dual-use features.
4 Officials in various ministries have also taken
pains to reiterate the government’s commitment to
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