Strong Military Forum | Actively Recognizing Change, Adapting to Change, and Seeking Change

At the rally celebrating the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Chairman Xi, in his incisive summation of our Party's outstanding qualities, noted that our Party "leads the country and the nation to advance in accordance with the logic of historical progress and to develop in the currents of the times." One important reason for this, he stated, is that the Party "lucidly grasps China's national conditions and the themes of the era, and actively recognizes change, adapts to change, and seeks change (积极识变应变求变)."

Those who perceive the trend of events are wise; those who master it prevail; those who plan for it flourish. The methodology of "recognizing change, adapting to change, and seeking change" profoundly embodies the ideological line of seeking truth from facts, the strategic thinking (战略思维) that commands the overall situation, and the practical wisdom of adhering to principles while exercising discretion (守经达权). It is consistently permeated by the essential truths of Marxism, deeply rooted in the philosophical wisdom of China's outstanding traditional culture, and fully manifests the spirit of historical initiative (历史主动精神) of Chinese Communists.

At present, the transformation of the world, the transformation of the era, and the transformation of history are unfolding in unprecedented ways, and the characteristics of transformation in science and technology, in warfare, and among adversaries are growing ever more pronounced. Transformation contains opportunity; the perceptive change with the times. To achieve the centenary goal of army building (建军一百年奋斗目标) on schedule and to advance the modernization of national defense and the armed forces with high quality, we must follow the currents of the times, persist in seeking the new through change, seeking progress through change, and achieving breakthroughs through change, and through actively recognizing change, adapting to change, and seeking change, win advantage, win initiative, and win the future.

Recognizing change is a matter of vision, and it tests one's perspective and powers of discernment. Before a traditional Chinese medicine physician prescribes a remedy, he must first examine the patient; only when the pulse is read accurately can the prescription be written accurately. Work is the same: if one fails to recognize the changes in the situation of the times, fails to distinguish the balance of advantages and disadvantages, and fails to understand the principles of rise and decline, one will miss opportunities and fall passively behind in the tide of the era. Scientifically recognizing change requires us to use Marxism's telescope to "recognize the trend (识势)"—to accurately judge the trajectory of the movement of internal contradictions within things, identifying both the form of "change" and perceiving the momentum of "change." It requires us to use Marxism's microscope to "recognize change early (识早)"—to pay attention to "the tip of the green duckweed" and "the top of the mast," so as to perceive great things in small signs and know autumn from a single leaf. It requires us to use Marxism's X-ray to "recognize the nature of change (识质)"—to distinguish whether it is quantitative change or qualitative change, whether it is formal variation or substantive transformation, whether it is short-term fluctuation or long-term, trend-based change, whether it is cyclical change or structural change—so that, in profoundly grasping the interactive changes between one's own development and the external environment, one can capture new opportunities and shape new advantages.

Adapting to change is a capability, and it manifests one's sense of responsibility and capacity for execution. "There are no fixed rules; only adaptation to change (不可为典要，惟变所适)." The key to writing the "follow-on chapter" of recognizing change lies in adapting to change scientifically. The capacity to adapt to change is the hard skill of meeting each move with a counter-move, responding to whatever comes. How are bottleneck problems in transformational development to be addressed? How are shortfalls and weaknesses in war preparation to be overcome? How are blockages and chokepoints in planning and execution to be cleared? Adapting to change is not passive coping—not the patchwork of "treating a headache by treating only the head, treating a foot ailment by treating only the foot"—but rather proactive action oriented toward the future. The core of adapting to change lies in grasping the dialectic of "danger" and "opportunity." One must neither carve a mark on a moving boat and seek a fixed sword (刻舟求剑) nor follow outmoded conventions; nor must one act rashly and blindly or pursue novelty for its own sake. One must persist in seeking driving force from reform and vitality from innovation, acting in accordance with local conditions, the moment, and the matter at hand, proactively making the "first move" of turning danger into opportunity and fighting the "initiative battle" of transformation and upgrading, so as to firmly hold the initiative in development.

Seeking change is a state of mind, and it reflects the spirit of enterprise and creativity. If recognizing change is a cognitive upgrade and adapting to change is proactive accommodation, then seeking change is the proactive endeavor of stepping outside one's comfort zone, breaking old fetters, and cultivating new advantages. The times never favor those who follow convention and rest content with the status quo; opportunity always belongs to those who boldly innovate and dare to break through. At present, the pace of our military's construction and development is continuously accelerating, and the scope and domains of military practice have greatly expanded. At the same time, there are many areas in construction concepts, construction approaches, and the like that urgently need improvement. Only if organizations at all levels maintain the clarity to seek change, muster the courage to seek change, hold firm the confidence to seek change, and strengthen the capability to seek change—working hard to improve guidance methods that are out of step with the times, transforming outdated and rigid modes of thinking, and breaking path dependencies that are narrow and limiting—can they continuously obtain the vitality and dynamism of development and progress, go all out to fight and win the hard battle of achieving the centenary goal of army building, and resolutely fulfill the missions and tasks of the new era entrusted by the Party and the people.