SA Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Jacob Zuma have both made trips to China earlier this year; while China’s State Councillor, Yang Jiechi visited South Africa in October.
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International Business Times reports that the decision to restructure the Chinese military was arrived at during a meeting of the military elites, which was attended by President Xi Jinping as well as the heads of the different arms of the Chinese Armed Forces. “Encourage the composition of forces to become broader, more integrated, multifunctional and flexible”, he was quoted as saying.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged breakthroughs in reform of the country’s armed forces by 2020, vowing to reorganize the current military administration structure and military command system. Since 2012, the Chinese government has lent a hand in around 900 aid programs in Africa, helping the continent cultivate more than 30,000 professionals on various fields, said vice commerce minister Qian Keming on Thursday.
“Now, as the country progresses from a large country to a large and powerful one, defense and military development stands at a newed and historic starting line, Xi said”.
Xi will also co-chair a two-day summit between China and African countries in Johannesburg next month.
Instead, African leaders are content for their countries to export oil and gas, copper, iron ore, and other commodities, while importing machinery, capital goods and consumer products from China, without preparing for an uncertain future when Chinese investment-led growth decelerates and demand for commodities wanes.
At present, China is boycotting a hearing about the matter before an global tribunal created by the United Nations that looks to resolve disputes in contested worldwide waters, according to the Guardian in the U.K.
The aim is to modernize the Chinese military and re-calibrate its traditional focus away from the land-based army to assign greater attention to the naval and air forces.
But the military reform programme, first unveiled in late 2013, has reportedly triggered resistance within the military.
The new strategic zones, known as zhan qu in Mandarin, could be more comprehensive in their composition of combat units with a clear bent towards a particular service, modelled on the USA military command structure.
China has been projecting its military power beyond its borders recently, especially in the South China Sea. Beijing has enormous economic interests in the region that it needs to protect. China’s involvement in Africa is not driven by altruism.
“The reform enhanced the power of the Central Military Commission and its chairman”, Yue said.
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“This is the biggest military overhaul since the 1950s”, said Yue Gang, a retired colonel in the PLA’s General Staff Department.
