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

trial and technology capacity under one roof. 30 Theoretically,
this will allow for better central coordination
and formulation of industrial policies, which have
been slow to adapt from the traditional heavy industry
sectors to the fast-paced electronics, computer,
communications, and digital network sectors. Furthermore,
MIIT will serve the specific purpose of uniting
the civilian information industries with those of the
military. Previously, many parts of this sector (electronics
for instance) were spread throughout the former
Ministry of Industry and Information, COSTIND,
and a number of military’s research institutes. 31 As
China’s military doctrine is now “fighting local wars
under conditions of informatization,” digitizing the
defense industry is a crucial objective. 32 With the civilian
information industry well ahead of the military
both in technology and industrial capacity, this organizational
union accelerates that process and will help
extend it to all areas of the military including nuclear,
space, aviation, shipping, and ordnance. 33
MIIT also creates an administrative structure that
is coherent with the mandate of integrating the civilian
and military economies. In essence, this move will
bring a closed, protectionist, monopoly-ridden defense
industry alongside the larger, dynamic civilian
and nonstate economic sectors. The defense industries
were not only shielded from competition, but largely
deprived of benefiting from the civilian sector’s modes
of innovation, modern manufacturing techniques as
well as the access to capital. Greater comprehensive
planning will in theory better allocate R&D and production
resources and rationalize standards. This is a
far-sighted strategic move to create an environment
for dual-use activity. To aid in this endeavor, the Dual-use
Promotion Office was also established with the
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