President Xi Jinping used a video link from the PLA’s Bayi Building on 10 February to conduct a rolling inspection of frontline units and to deliver Lunar New Year greetings to the armed forces. Speaking on the eve of the Year of the Horse holiday, Xi addressed personnel across the services — including an army battalion, the navy ship Anhui, an air force aviation brigade, a rocket force brigade, military space and cyberspace units, information-support and logistics elements, and a People’s Armed Police detachment — and praised their morale and readiness.
Xi’s remarks combined customary political messaging with operational exhortations. He commended the military’s recent “political rectification” and the role of anti-corruption measures in reshaping the force, argued that grassroots troops had demonstrated loyalty to the Party and reliability in carrying out missions, and urged commanders to intensify realistic, hands-on training and to “use well the weapons and equipment in hand” to raise combat power and operational competence.
A strong theme was continuity: the People’s Liberation Army must remain on duty even during holidays. Xi stressed the PLA’s tradition of “not forgetting preparedness during festivals,” instructing units to maintain prescribed alert levels, be ready to handle sudden incidents, and at the same time pay attention to arranging service-members’ lives over the holiday period. The message balanced reassurance about force welfare with an unmistakable call for sustained vigilance.
For international observers, the video inspection underscores two durable priorities of Xi’s civil-military strategy: tighter Party control of the armed forces and the push for a modern, multi-domain military posture. The inclusion of rocket forces, military space and cyberspace components in the roundup highlights the emphasis on integrated capability development beyond traditional land and sea forces.
The exercise is as much political theatre as it is a readiness check. It signals to domestic audiences that the PLA remains disciplined and loyal while reminding external audiences that China’s armed forces are being groomed for higher-tempo, joint operations. Expect more publicised inspections, deeper emphasis on realistic training, and continued use of anti-corruption and political education as tools to manage the officer corps and cement Xi’s control over the military.