Step Forward — Written on the Occasion of the 99th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
Step Forward — Written on the Occasion of the 99th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
Xinhua News Agency reporters Liu Yi and Huang Yichen
"Step — forward!"
Battle flags snap in the wind; the road of征途 stretches vast. From the crack of a rifle in Nanchang in 1927 to the new journey of strengthening and revitalizing the military in the new era, 99 years of wind and rain have transformed this command far beyond the bounds of drill-field instruction — it has become a spiritual coordinate embedded in the very bloodstream of the people's army, a battle cry urging the march ever onward.
August 1st comes again. The centenary goal of army-building is now within sight; the urgent tasks of forging a strong military press down like a mountain. Across the great rivers of the north and south, across the vast sky, across ten thousand li of sea frontier, officers and soldiers of the entire military are advancing in a charging posture, stepping to the same resounding beat — step forward!
Step forward: the people's army is thoroughly implementing Xi Jinping's thought on strengthening the military (习近平强军思想) and thoroughly implementing the military strategic guidelines for the new era, unwaveringly advancing along the path of building a strong military with Chinese characteristics, one step after another, each step surpassing the last.
Step forward: the people's army is putting into practice its fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, writing the answer sheet of this era — pursuing the dream of a strong military and building a first-class force — with the iron-blooded commitment (铁血担当) of marching toward war and daring to fight and win.
Step forward: standing at the historical juncture of the army's 99th anniversary, officers and soldiers of the entire military press on without pause, continuing their struggle to ensure the centenary goal of army-building is achieved on schedule, providing strategic support for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
(I)
"The PLA is here!"
This past July, Typhoon Meisak struck, torrential rains poured down on Guangxi, rivers surged, and multiple areas issued emergency calls.
The disaster situation is the order! In the midst of the floodwaters, the people's soldiers fulfilled their resounding pledge through a charging "step forward" — the people first, life first.
"The PLA is here" — these words express the deepest sense of security in the hearts of the people; "the PLA is here" — these words are laden with the people's heaviest trust in their soldiers.
Surrounded by floodwaters, a little girl watched soldiers rowing with all their strength and began to sing "Ode to the Motherland," her young voice piercing through the curtain of rain. In Gantang Township, Binyang County, Grandma Wei watched soldiers help move belongings to safety, her eyes reddening: "I see hope."
Wherever there is danger, there are the people's soldiers. Times change, but the people's army's purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly does not.
"The country is the people, and the people are the country. To win the country and to guard the country is to guard the hearts of the people." General Secretary Xi Jinping's words express a profound truth that cannot be overturned. Across 99 years, the people's army's founding mission remains firm as bedrock.
"As a soldier, I will defend my motherland with my life and blood…" In 1998, at the front lines of the Yangtze River flood-fighting effort, 20-year-old Li Xiangqun wrote his application to join the Party.
On the flood-control levee, this soldier with only 20 months of service fulfilled his pledge with his life.
Today, people forever remember Li Xiangqun, the "heroic soldier of the new era." The solid Jingjiang levee guards day and night the safety of more than 11 million mu of land and more than 10 million people, becoming the "levee of life" for that land.
The hearts of the people are this army's eternal base area, the inexhaustible driving force for its eternal advance forward —
For the people: on the rubble of the Wenchuan earthquake, 15 paratroopers made a fearless blind jump from 5,000 meters; fighting Typhoon Nepartak, 22-year-old Liu Jingtai gave his life to the surging floodwaters; 26-year-old demobilized soldier Jin Chenglong leapt into the bone-chilling icy water to rescue people and never came back up…
For the people: the people's army applied precise effort to support and win the battle against poverty, providing targeted assistance to 4,100 impoverished villages, 293,000 impoverished households, and 924,000 impoverished people; more than 5,100 outstanding demobilized veterans served as "soldier village secretaries" (兵支书) and "soldier committee members" (兵委员)…
"Many thanks to the people's soldiers, who came from afar to fight the floods — the people of Guigang will keep you in their hearts, in their hearts." On July 13, as troops who had completed flood-fighting and rescue operations withdrew from Guigang, Guangxi, the people lined the streets to see them off, singing folk songs; the officers and soldiers responded with solemn military salutes.
This scene holds the deepest source of confidence of a nation: the people trust the military, and the military does not fail the people. As the journey toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation surges with turbulence, the people and the military advance hand in hand — that is an indestructible national defense.
(II)
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March. People are retracing the Long March route, seeking the power of faith. From Changsha to Dao County in Hunan, from his birthplace to the place of his death, people are commemorating in various ways Red Army division commander Chen Shuxiang, who died heroically in the Battle of the Xiang River.
More than 90 years ago, Chen Shuxiang was shot in the abdomen and captured during the bloody battle at the Xiang River. During transport, he tore out his own intestines to show his resolve and died heroically, at only 29 years of age.
The Long March was a road to victory, and even more a road of sacrifice on which revolutionary martyrs followed one another in laying down their lives. After the bloody battle at the Xiang River, the Central Red Army was reduced from 86,000 at the outset to more than 30,000; the four Long March armies set out with a combined total of 206,000, received 17,000 reinforcements along the way, and by the end of the Long March had only 57,000 remaining — in the First Front Army alone, on average one soldier fell for every 300 meters… The Long March spirit is a historical monument forged with the lives of countless martyrs.
Also at 29 years of age, Zhang Chao — "the vanguard of a strong military pursuing dreams across sea and sky" — wrote a heroic act belonging to the new era with his life.
On April 27, 2016, Zhang Chao, a naval J-15 carrier-based aircraft pilot, died heroically during land-based simulated carrier landing training due to a mechanical failure, falling at a place just a step away from his dream — he needed only 7 more flight sorties before he could fly onto the aircraft carrier Liaoning.
"Even at the cost of life, I must spread my wings and soar." Ten years on, his words still inspire every carrier-based aircraft pilot.
It is because of the sacrifice of "Chen Shuxiangs" that the people today have happiness and peace; it is because of the dedication of "Zhang Chaos" that the People's Navy has the confidence and speed to advance into the deep blue.
Guided by Xi Jinping's thought on strengthening the military, Zhang Chao's comrades-in-arms are carrying his unfinished ideals and flying toward higher and farther sea and sky — Liaoning and Shandong cleave the waves and sail toward the deep blue, Fujian has formally entered service, and the People's Navy has entered the "era of three aircraft carriers." Behind this "aircraft carrier dream" spanning a century lies the unrelenting effort of generation after generation of military personnel pressing forward one after another.
The nation is not at war, yet soldiers make sacrifices. Since China first participated in United Nations peacekeeping operations in 1990, over 36 years more than 50,000 peacekeeping officers and soldiers have been deployed in cumulative total; 17 military personnel, including Shen Liangliang, Li Lei, and Yang Shupeng, gave their lives in defense of world peace.
Today's people's army is striding forward. In the future, there are still many "Loushan Passes" and "Lazikou Passes" to overcome, still many "snow mountains" and "grasslands" to cross — but for the sake of a peaceful homeland, for the sake of the lights burning in ten thousand homes, the people's army will always choose, without hesitation, to step forward.
(III)
On September 3, 2025, contingents from four services, four arms, and the People's Armed Police Force marched past Tiananmen. The Space Force contingent, the Cyberspace Force contingent, and the Information Support Force contingent made their first public appearance. The army that once won victory with "millet plus rifles" has undergone day-by-day, month-by-month transformation.
Beginning July 31 of this year, the Air Force used multiple Y-20 aircraft to transport newly enrolled flight cadets in a concentrated airlift to report to the Air Force Aviation University.
The Y-20B, equipped with a new domestically produced engine and participating in this mission for the first time, became a vivid embodiment of the People's Air Force's parallel advancement in equipment development and the cultivation of flight personnel.
The wings of the "Kunpeng" — the wings of a great power.
The world's cameras once witnessed this moment: in August 2024, on the eve of the Egypt Air Show, the commander of an Air Force aviation regiment led his crew in a Y-20, guiding a J-10 formation as it swept past the pyramids.
January 26, 2013: the Y-20's maiden flight succeeded. July 6, 2016: the Y-20 was formally inducted into the People's Air Force. 2019: the Y-20 was inducted into an Air Force aviation regiment… This is a road of dreams, and even more a road of accelerating "step forward."
On the new journey of the new era, Xi Jinping's thought on strengthening the military guides the people's army to stride forward.
On July 1, a grand assembly celebrating the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. He Xianda, a first-class master sergeant and squad leader and launch technician of a Rocket Force brigade, entered the hall in military uniform and was honored with the title of "National Outstanding Communist Party Member." On the same day, the strategic missile force (战略导弹部队) celebrated its 60th birthday. Capable of both nuclear and conventional strikes, with full-domain deterrence and combat (核常兼备、全域慑战), the "king of missile soldiers" (导弹兵王) bears witness to the growth and strengthening of this force.
On the eve of Army Day, the advanced deeds of Wang Ji — a "Model of the Era" (时代楷模) and researcher at the School of Computer Science, National University of Defense Technology — drew widespread attention across the internet. He is a principal pioneer in China's field of high-assurance software (高可信软件), having engaged in research on high-assurance software technology for more than 30 years.
On January 23, 2013, Wang Ji suffered an acute aortic dissection and was forced to undergo "high bilateral lower-limb amputation." In 2021, he was further diagnosed with renal failure. As his condition progressed, he required dialysis three times a week to maintain his physical state. Yet he continued to push his wheelchair forward, focusing on major strategic needs of the nation and the military, racing against time with a sense of urgency.
"I have always been asking myself: fate gave me a chance at rebirth — what more can I do for my country, for the cause of building a strong military?" Wang Ji said. "As long as my brain can still think and my hands can still move, I must shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the era and keep charging forward."
Today's people's army is closer than at any previous time to the goal of fully building a world-class military. From the desert Gobi to the forested snowfields, from the distant oceans to ten thousand li of sky, from the vast heavens to cyberspace… tens of thousands of new-era officers and soldiers like Wang Ji, carrying one person's dream, one army's dream, one nation's dream, are charging bravely forward at their combat posts.
Step forward — achieve the centenary goal of army-building on schedule.
Step by step forward — by 2035, basically realize the modernization of national defense and the military; by the middle of this century, fully build a world-class military.
The Party Central Committee takes the long view; the supreme commander's earnest instructions (统帅殷殷嘱托) are heeded and followed by the entire military. Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the people's army — having traveled 99 years of glorious journey — sets out again in full battle array, striding forward on the broad road.
(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 31)