Chinese president backs reform in military education

Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, state president, and chairman of the Central Military Commission [CMC], met with delegates to the 16th Conference of Army-Wide Military Academies and Schools in the Great Hall of the People. On behalf of the party Central Committee and the CMC, he extended sincere greetings to the comrades attending the event and the faculties, students, and staff of all the military academies and schools across the Army.

Xi Jinping, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, vice state president, and vice chairman of the CMC, was also present at the meeting.

Military academies and schools are the main vehicles of military talent development. They have an important position and play an important role in the modernization of the armed forces. It is our hope that you will closely centre on the needs of national defence building and Army building, comprehensively implement the party's educational guideline, and actively promote the scientific development of education at military academies and schools. You should consistently put ideological and political building first and maintain a correct orientation of the way in which the academies and schools are run and the cadets are educated.

You should, in a solid manner, advance the adjustment and reform of military academies and schools; explore the characteristics and patterns of modern military education in depth; strive to educate and bring up a large number of high-quality new-type military personnel; and provide strong talent and intellectual support for the effective performance of our Army's historical mission in the new century and the new phase.

As per approval by the CMC, the 16th Conference of Army-Wide Military Academies and Schools was convened in Beijing on 11 July. The main agenda of the conference was as follows: to conscientiously implement Chairman Hu's major strategic notion of taking the promotion of the scientific development of national defence building and Army building as the theme and taking the acceleration of the change to the combat power generation pattern as the main thread; to sum up and share experience in the development of military academies and schools and talent development; to map out, through study, the mandate for the adjustment and reform of military academies and schools and training institutions; and plan the reform and development of military academies and schools in the next decade.

The meeting was attended by: Liu Yandong, member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and state councillor; Guo Boxiong, member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and vice chairman of the CMC; Xu Caihou, member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and vice chairman of the CMC; and members of the CMC Liang Guanglie, Chen Bingde, Li Jinai, Liao Xilong, Chang Wanquan, Jing Zhiyuan, Wu Shengli, and Xu Qiliang.

The meeting was also attended by the leaders of the state ministries and commissions concerned the four general departments of the People's Liberation Army, all the major units of the Army, the Armed Police Force, and the CMC General Office.

Source: Xinhua news agency domestic service, Beijing, in Chinese 0000gmt 13 Jul 11