Chinese military seeks more civilian high-tech inputs in its modernisation as China makes strides in AI
The military delegates made the call during the annual session of China’s national legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), and the advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), reported PLA Daily, the official organ of the Chinese military, on Monday.
“We need to innovate the model of transforming local emerging field resources into war [preparation],” NPC deputy Liu Shuwei, a lieutenant general in the PLA Air Force, was quoted as saying by the PLA Daily.
Liu also called for research centres focused on key areas such as unmanned systems and underwater and cyberspace warfare, the Hong Kong- based South China Morning Post quoted the PLA Daily report.
He urged Beijing to optimise the certification, bidding and procurement processes for the civilian sector’s participation in military projects, saying this would help to streamline the flow of emerging civilian resources for military application.
The PLA already controls several high-tech sectors, such as space, in which China has made significant advancements. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who heads the Central Military Commission, (CMC) — the overall high command of the PLA, has also called for intensified joint civil-military endeavours. In his interaction with military officials during the parliament session last week, Xi urged efforts to effectively leverage the strengths and resources of the civilian sectors to enhance the quality and efficiency of military development, with an accelerated focus on developing new, high-quality combat capabilities.
Chinese military development was a focal point of the parliament session, as last week China announced a 7.2 per cent hike in defence spending, taking the total expenditure to USD 249 billion, the second highest after the US.
The CPPCC concluded its week-long session on Monday, while the NPC will end its meeting on Tuesday.
China’s AI products, especially DeepSeek, have drawn global attention for their low-cost model, using only a fraction of the computing power required by established AI models like ChatGPT.
China’s technological breakthroughs have dominated this year’s parliament session, with lawmakers revelling in the AI breakthroughs and the development of new technologies.
With DeepSeek’s debut, the AI race has intensified between China and the US, which is the home to major global tech firms. Reports from the US indicated that the Donald Trump administration mulled banning DeepSeek from government devices.
On Mar 7, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in his annual press conference on the sidelines of the parliament session hit back at attempts to put curbs on China’s tech products saying, “No mountains can stop the surging flow of a mighty river.” Likewise, “high fences and small yards” cannot suppress the spirit of innovation, and decoupling and supply chain disruption will only lead to self-isolation.
Wang said science and technology should not be used to put up an iron curtain. Instead, they should be a shared wealth that benefits all.
