Doctrine Political Work

Symposium on Jiang Zemin's Thought on National Defense and Army Building Held in Beijing

江泽民国防和军队建设思想研讨会在京召开

PLA Daily (解放军报) 15 August 2026

Summary

The PLA held a symposium in Beijing on August 14 to mark the centenary of Jiang Zemin's birth, reviewing his concept of advancing the 'revolution in military affairs with Chinese characteristics' (中国特色军事变革) and the dual standard of ensuring the army can 'win battles and will not change its nature' (打得赢、不变质). The event's substantive weight falls not on Jiang but on the closing injunctions: the framing subordinates his legacy to Xi Jinping's 'Two Establishments' (两个确立) and 强军思想, using the commemoration as a vehicle for reaffirming current ideological priorities. This is standard political-work content; its value is as a record of how the PLA institutionally positions a predecessor leader's military thought as a stepping stone to Xi's framework rather than as a parallel or competing authority.

Translation

PLA Daily, Beijing, August 14 (reported by correspondents Yan Shan and Yan Zifeng): To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Jiang Zemin, a symposium on Jiang Zemin's thought on national defense and army building was held in Beijing on the 14th.

The meeting noted that Jiang Zemin's thought on national defense and army building profoundly answered the question of how to actively advance the revolution in military affairs with Chinese characteristics (中国特色军事变革) and ensure that the People's Army can win battles and will not change its nature (打得赢、不变质), under the historical conditions of a vigorous worldwide revolution in military affairs and the deepening development of China's socialist market economy. It enriched the treasury of Marxist military theoretical thought and guided the People's Army in providing security guarantees for the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Every step forward in theoretical innovation must be followed by a corresponding step forward in arming the mind with theory (理论武装). On the new journey, we must profoundly grasp the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments" (两个确立), persistently use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to forge unity of will and cast the soul (凝心铸魂), thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on strengthening the military (习近平强军思想), advance the building of the military through political work (政治建军) without pause, comprehensively strengthen training and war preparedness, advance the modernization of national defense and the armed forces with high quality, and greet the centenary of the founding of the army with an entirely new political bearing.

Original Chinese

解放军报北京8月14日电记者严珊、闫梓锋报道：为纪念江泽民同志诞辰100周年，江泽民国防和军队建设思想研讨会14日在京召开。会议指出，江泽民国防和军队建设思想，深刻回答了在世界新军事变革蓬勃进行、我国社会主义市场经济深入发展的历史条件下，如何积极推进中国特色军事变革，保证人民军队打得赢、不变质的问题，丰富了马克思主义军事理论思想宝库，指引人民军队为建设中国特色社会主义提供安全保障。理论创新每前进一步，理论武装就要跟进一步。新征程上，要深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，坚持不懈用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想凝心铸魂，深入学习贯彻习近平强军思想，一刻不停推进政治建军，全面加强练兵备战，高质量推进国防和军队现代化，以崭新政治面貌迎接建军一百周年。