Translated by Claude, edited by Sinocism.com

Source: People's Daily | Byline: Zhang Shengmin (张升民), Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission | August 18, 2026

Building a strong national defense and powerful people's armed forces is a goal our Party has diligently pursued. During his tenure as Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Comrade Jiang Zemin accurately grasped the world's development trends and the pulse of China's advance; centering on the questions of what kind of military to build and how to build it, he led the entire armed forces in in-depth theoretical exploration and practical creation, and founded Jiang Zemin's Thought on National Defense and Military Building. Grounded in the historical conditions of the twists and turns of world multipolarization, the vigorous rise of the new military revolution, and the deepening development of China's socialist market economy, this thought scientifically answered the two historic questions of how the people's armed forces could "win battles" and "not degenerate." It guided the whole military to seize opportunities and accelerate development, provided a security guarantee for building socialism with Chinese characteristics, and created favorable conditions for continuously advancing the modernization of national defense and the armed forces.

建设巩固国防和强大人民军队是我们党孜孜以求的目标。江泽民同志担任中央军委主席期间，准确把握世界发展趋势和中国前进脉搏，围绕建设什么样的军队、怎样建设军队，带领全军深入进行理论探索和实践创造，创立了江泽民国防和军队建设思想。江泽民国防和军队建设思想，立足世界多极化曲折发展、新军事变革蓬勃兴起、我国社会主义市场经济深入发展的历史条件，科学回答人民军队“打得赢”、“不变质”两个历史性课题，指引全军抓住机遇、加快发展，为建设中国特色社会主义提供了安全保障，为持续推进国防和军队现代化创造了良好条件。

Comrade Jiang Zemin held that the Party's absolute leadership over the military is the forever-unchanging soul of our armed forces; he insisted on placing ideological and political work first among all the military's various tasks, ensuring that our army always remained a revolutionary army under the absolute leadership of the Party. In whose hands a country's military is held has always been a major question bearing on that country's future and destiny. In the face of the complex situation of the drastic upheavals in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and the severe tests posed by hostile forces vigorously advocating that the "military be de-Party-ized and de-politicized" and "nationalized," Comrade Jiang Zemin treated the Party's absolute leadership over the military as the foremost question in military building and development. He led the whole army in education on patriotic dedication, a revolutionary outlook on life, respect for officers and care for soldiers, and hard struggle; he worked hard to build strong Party committee leadership teams and cadre ranks at all levels; and he resolutely opposed and overcame mountaintop-ism, factionalism, and other erroneous tendencies harmful to the military's centralization and unity, ensuring that the gun barrels were held in the hands of reliable people loyal to the Party. On the new journey, we must uphold the Party's absolute leadership over the military, persistently use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to forge our souls, thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building and Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military, fully carry out the strategy of politically building the military in the new era, do a good job of regularized political rectification and training, enhance the leadership, organizational and executive capacity of Party organizations, strengthen the revolutionary forging of the cadre ranks, and ensure that the troops resolutely obey the command of the Party Center, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Xi.

江泽民同志提出党对军队的绝对领导是我军永远不变的军魂，坚持把思想政治建设摆在全军各项建设的首位，确保我军始终是党绝对领导下的革命军队。一个国家的军队掌握在什么人手中，始终是关系这个国家前途命运的重大问题。针对苏东剧变复杂形势、敌对势力极力鼓吹“军队非党化、非政治化”和“军队国家化”等严峻考验，江泽民同志把党对军队的绝对领导作为军队建设和发展的首要问题，领导全军开展爱国奉献、革命人生观、尊干爱兵、艰苦奋斗教育，下力抓好各级党委班子和干部队伍建设，坚决反对和克服山头主义、宗派主义和其他危害军队集中统一的错误倾向，保证枪杆子掌握在忠于党的可靠的人手里。新征程上，我们必须坚持党对军队的绝对领导，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，深入贯彻习近平党建思想、习近平强军思想，全面落实新时代政治建军方略，抓好常态化政治整训，提高党组织领导力组织力执行力，加强干部队伍革命性锻造，确保部队坚决听从党中央、中央军委和习主席指挥。

Comrade Jiang Zemin put forward the "five-phrase" general requirement for military building, establishing—epistemologically and methodologically—the guiding thought for comprehensively advancing military building, and moving our army's revolutionary, modern and standardized construction into a new stage of development. How to realize the general goal put forward by Comrade Deng Xiaoping of "building our army into a powerful, modern, standardized revolutionary army" was an overarching, strategic question. Comrade Jiang Zemin advanced the general requirement of building a military that is politically qualified, militarily competent, of fine conduct, strictly disciplined, and adequately supported; grasping the five basic elements directly bearing on the generation of our army's combat effectiveness, he propelled military building toward coordinated development, integrated advancement and all-around progress. In particular, addressing the ills brought about by a period in which the armed forces engaged in commercial business, he demanded resolute and decisive cessation of all commercial activity by the military; and addressing the infiltration and erosion by external decadent thinking under conditions of reform and opening, he demanded resolute resistance to the corrosive influence of "wine and women, song and dance"—which was of major and far-reaching significance for preserving the true character and conduct of the people's armed forces. On the new journey, we must keep our eyes on realizing the Party's goal of building a strong military in the new era, comprehensively advance politically building the military, reform to strengthen the military, science and technology to strengthen the military, talent to strengthen the military, and running the military according to law; persist in simultaneously struggling, preparing for war, and building; advance the modernization of national defense and the armed forces at high quality; achieve on schedule the centenary goal for the founding of the army; and drive decisive progress toward basically realizing the modernization of national defense and the armed forces.

江泽民同志提出军队建设“五句话”总要求，从认识论和方法论上确立全面推进军队建设的指导思想，推动我军革命化现代化正规化建设进入新的发展阶段。如何实现邓小平同志提出的“把我军建设成为一支强大的现代化正规化革命军队”总目标，是一个全局性战略性问题。江泽民同志提出政治合格、军事过硬、作风优良、纪律严明、保障有力的军队建设总要求，抓住五个直接关系我军战斗力生成的基本要素，推动军队建设协调发展、整体推进、全面进步。特别是针对一个时期部队经商带来的弊端，要求坚决果断停止军队一切经商活动；针对改革开放条件下外部腐朽思想的渗透侵蚀，要求坚决抵制“酒绿灯红”的消极影响，对于保持人民军队本色和作风具有重大而深远的意义。新征程上，我们必须着眼实现党在新时代的强军目标，全面推进政治建军、改革强军、科技强军、人才强军、依法治军，坚持边斗争、边备战、边建设，高质量推进国防和军队现代化，如期实现建军一百年奋斗目标，推动基本实现国防和军队现代化取得决定性进展。

Comrade Jiang Zemin called for actively advancing military transformation with Chinese characteristics, led the formulation of the military strategic guideline for the new period, and accelerated the raising of our army's capability to win high-technology wars. After the outbreak of the Gulf War, Comrade Jiang Zemin keenly discerned the development trend of the world's new military revolution, presided over the formulation of the new-period military strategic guideline of active defense, adjusted the basis for preparations for military struggle, and unswervingly took the road of a lean and capable army with Chinese characteristics. He pushed preparations for military struggle to shift from coping with local wars under ordinary conditions toward preparing to win local wars under modern—especially high-technology—conditions, and pushed military building to shift from a quantity-and-scale model to a quality-and-efficiency model, and from a labor-intensive model to a science-and-technology-intensive one. He strengthened centralized, unified leadership and management over weapons and equipment building, vigorously developed the navy, air force, strategic missile and space forces, formed rapid-reaction mobile combat units, and did a good job of preparations for military struggle against separatism and against "Taiwan independence." On the new journey, we must thoroughly implement Xi Jinping's Thought on Military Strategy, thoroughly implement the military strategic guideline for the new era, keep close watch on changes in technology, changes in warfare and changes in our adversaries, deepen reform and innovation, accelerate the development of advanced combat power, firmly and flexibly conduct military struggle, and defend national sovereignty, security and development interests with stronger capabilities and more reliable means.

江泽民同志提出积极推进中国特色军事变革，领导制定新时期军事战略方针，加快提高我军打赢高技术战争能力。海湾战争爆发后，江泽民同志敏锐洞察世界新军事变革发展趋势，主持制定新时期积极防御的军事战略方针，调整军事斗争准备基点，坚定不移走中国特色的精兵之路，推动军事斗争准备由应付一般条件下局部战争向准备打赢现代技术特别是高技术条件下局部战争转变，军队建设由数量规模型向质量效能型、由人力密集型向科技密集型转变。加强武器装备建设的集中统一领导和管理，大力发展海军、空军、战略导弹和航天力量，组建应急机动作战部队，抓好反分裂、反“台独”等军事斗争准备。新征程上，我们必须深入贯彻习近平军事战略思想，深入贯彻新时代军事战略方针，紧盯科技之变、战争之变、对手之变，深化改革创新，加快发展先进战斗力，坚定灵活开展军事斗争，以更强大的能力、更可靠的手段捍卫国家主权、安全、发展利益。

Comrade Jiang Zemin emphasized relying on the people to build the military and build national defense, raising national defense mobilization capacity and consolidating military-government and military-civilian unity, so as to gather the powerful strength needed to win a people's war under high-technology conditions. No matter how weapons and equipment develop, and no matter how the form of warfare changes, people's war is the magic weapon by which we defeat our enemies. Comrade Jiang Zemin led efforts to strengthen the building of national defense reserve forces, improved the national defense mobilization system in accordance with the principle of combining the military with the civilian, combining peacetime with wartime, and embedding the military within the civilian, and developed the strategy and tactics of people's war under high-technology conditions. He mobilized the whole army to actively participate in and support the country's reform and development, and personally directed a series of major emergency rescue and disaster relief operations such as the fight against the 1998 floods. On the new journey, we must bear firmly in mind the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, jointly write a new chapter of the era of "love my people, love my army," better consolidate and enhance the integrated national strategic system and capabilities, and drive the cause of a strong country and a strong military to advance steadily and far.

江泽民同志强调依靠人民建设军队、建设国防，提高国防动员能力、巩固军政军民团结，凝聚打赢高技术条件下人民战争的强大力量。无论武器装备如何发展，战争形态如何变化，人民战争都是我们克敌制胜的法宝。江泽民同志领导加强国防后备力量建设，按照军民结合、平战结合、寓军于民的方针完善国防动员体制，发展高技术条件下人民战争的战略战术。动员全军积极参与支援国家改革发展，亲自指挥“九八抗洪”等一系列抢险救灾重大行动。新征程上，我们必须牢记全心全意为人民服务的根本宗旨，共同续写爱我人民爱我军的时代新篇，更好巩固提高一体化国家战略体系和能力，推动强国强军事业行稳致远。

A strong country requires a strong military, and only a strong military can make the country secure. Since the new era, under the strong leadership of the Party Center with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the cause of building a strong military has achieved historic accomplishments and undergone historic changes, and the road of building a strong military with Chinese characteristics has grown ever broader. The people's armed forces will soon mark the centenary of their founding, and the best comfort to the revolutionary forebears who created and developed this heroic army is to accelerate building the people's armed forces into a world-class military. We must deeply appreciate the decisive significance of the "Two Establishes," strengthen the "Four Consciousnesses," firm up the "Four Self-confidences," and achieve the "Two Upholds"; implement the system of ultimate responsibility resting with the CMC Chairman; resolutely accomplish the various tasks entrusted by the Party and the people; and provide strong strategic support for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.

强国必须强军，军强才能国安。新时代以来，在以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚强领导下，在习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想科学指引下，强军事业取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革，中国特色强军之路越走越宽广。人民军队即将迎来建军一百周年，对缔造和发展这支英雄军队的革命先辈的最好告慰，就是加快把人民军队建设成为世界一流军队。我们要深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，贯彻军委主席负责制，坚决完成党和人民赋予的各项任务，为以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业提供坚强战略支撑。