Defense & StrategyAnalysis
China Airs Six-Part PLA Media Series 'Winning' Ahead of Army Day
Jointly produced by top military and cyberspace organs, the documentary spotlights war preparedness and joint operational capabilities across service branches.
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The Brief
Approved by the Central Military Commission (CMC), a six-part converged media series titled "Winning" ("Zhisheng") began broadcasting on CCTV-1 on July 30. Jointly produced by the CMC Political Work Department, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, and China Media Group, the documentary highlights war preparedness, service branch transformations, and joint combat readiness across the People's Liberation Army (PLA) under Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military.
Why it matters
The release of "Winning" serves as a major political and propaganda milestone ahead of Army Day, reflecting the PLA's ongoing transformation under Xi Jinping's military doctrine. It underscores key progress in service branch modernizations—spanning land, naval, air, space, and strategic missile forces—and highlights Beijing's strategic focus on integrated joint combat power.
China context
In Chinese defense communication, converged media productions co-sponsored by the CMC Political Work Department, the CAC, and state broadcasting represent top-tier political education. These high-visibility campaigns aim to enforce ideological alignment and strict adherence to the Chairman Responsibility System across all theater commands while communicating military modernization achievements to the broader public.
Editor's View
EDITOR'S VIEW — Analysis and inference, not factual reporting.
The structure of "Winning" offers a clear blueprint of how Beijing views its modern force composition: individual episodes focus sequentially on ground forces, naval deep-sea operations, aerospace assets, and Rocket Force strategic deterrence, culminating in joint warfare. While primarily an internal ideological mobilization effort ahead of military milestones, foreign defense analysts should closely observe any exercise footage or operational hardware showcased for hints about PLA training priorities.
What to watch
- Footage of new weapon systems and practical combat exercises revealed across the six episodes.
- Centralized viewing and study sessions organized across PLA theater commands and individual units.
- Follow-up commentary in official military media detailing specific modernization metrics referenced in the series.
Key Takeaways
- 1Approved by the CMC, the 6-episode media series 'Winning' began broadcasting on CCTV-1 on July 30.
- 2The production is a joint effort by the CMC Political Work Department, Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, and CMG.
- 3Episodes cover land force transformation, deep-sea naval expansion, air and space capabilities, Rocket Force deterrence, and joint combat operations.
- 4The series emphasizes loyalty to the CPC leadership and the Chairman Responsibility System while pushing toward the PLA's 2027 centenary goals.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV began airing a six-part converged media documentary series titled "Winning" ("Zhisheng") on July 30, following official approval by the Central Military Commission (CMC) [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43]. The series is jointly produced by the CMC Political Work Department, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (CAC), and China Media Group (CMG) [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43]. Prime-time broadcast on CCTV's flagship General Channel (CCTV-1) underscores the official priority placed on the media campaign [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43].
The production centers on combat readiness and warfighting capabilities under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43]. Across its six episodes, the series takes an operational, on-the-ground perspective to highlight developments across major service branches and modern command structures [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43]. The episode titles outline these focus areas:
1. "Where the Battle Flag Points" ("Zhanqi Suoxiang")
2. "Ground Forces Transformed" ("Huanyu Zhi Lu")
3. "Advancing into Deep Blue" ("Tingjin Shenlan")
4. "Sky and Space Tempering the Sword" ("Kongtian Lijian")
5. "The Mighty Dongfeng Blows" ("Dongfeng Haodang")
6. "Joint Warfare, Joint Victory" ("Lianzhan Liansheng") [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43]
According to reports from Xinhua and PLA Daily, the series aims to portray the fresh outlook and ongoing efforts of military personnel as they execute war preparedness tasks [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43]. Ideologically, the documentary is intended to inspire troops to solidify political alignment, reinforce adherence to the Chairman Responsibility System, and remain strictly obedient to the party leadership and the military command structure [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43].
The release coincides with key developmental benchmarks for the People's Liberation Army as it works toward achieving its 2027 centenary goals and advancing toward becoming a world-class military force [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43]. By organizing the narrative from army, naval, aerospace, and strategic missile capabilities up to integrated joint combat operations, the series signals Beijing's official focus on joint theater-level integration across all domains of modern warfare [6a69b6e4af67af850f73bd7b, 6a6ac4269841f72b90f31c43].
Sources
- 思想解读类融媒体片《制胜》即将播出 - 中国军网 — China Military Online · 7/29/2026
- 思想解读类融媒体片《制胜》将播出 — China Military Online · 7/30/2026