What is China’s national defense policy?

——Consolidate national defense, resist aggression, stop armed subversion, and safeguard the country’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and security. This is the basic goal of China's national defense policy and the main responsibility assigned to China's armed forces by the Constitution. China strives to avoid and stop wars and to resolve international disputes and issues left over from history through peaceful means. However, while hegemonism and power politics still exist, the country must have the ability to use military means to defend sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and security. China's national defense modernization is entirely for self-defense and is needed to ensure national modernization and security. The size of China's armed forces is commensurate with the need to safeguard national security and interests. China builds and consolidates national defense independently and through self-reliance.

——National defense construction is subject to and serves the overall situation of national economic construction, and national defense construction and economic construction develop in a coordinated manner. This is a long-term basic policy for China's national defense construction. National defense modernization requires the support of the country's economic and technical strength, and the level of national defense modernization can only be gradually improved as the country's economic strength increases. The country insists on taking economic construction as the center, and national defense construction must obey and serve this overall situation. The military actively participates in and supports the country's economic construction. While concentrating its efforts on economic construction, the country also strengthens national defense construction and promotes the coordinated development of national defense construction and economic construction.

——Implement the military strategic policy of active defense. Strategically, China implements the principles of defense, self-defense and post-strike, and insists that "we will not attack others unless they attack us; if they attack us, we will attack them." China's possession of a small number of nuclear weapons is entirely due to the need for self-defense. China adheres to the principle of all-people self-defense and the strategic thinking of people's war, strengthens the concept of all-people national defense, improves the national defense mobilization system, and strengthens the construction of national defense reserve forces; based on existing weapons and equipment, inherits and carries forward fine traditions; adapts to the profound changes in the world's military field, and does a good job Preparation for defense operations under modern technology, especially high-tech conditions.

——Follow the path of elite soldiers with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese military strives to strengthen quality construction and follow the path of elite troops with Chinese characteristics. The goal is to build a revolutionary, modern and regular people's army with Chinese characteristics. Reducing quantity and improving quality is a basic policy for military modernization. The Chinese military relies on science and technology to strengthen its military and realize the transformation of the military from quantity and scale to quality and efficiency, and from manpower-intensive to technology-intensive. In accordance with the characteristics of modern warfare, we strive to improve the level of weapons and equipment modernization and reform and improve the military system. Develop and improve the content and methods of military training and school education.

——Maintain world peace and oppose aggression and expansion. China adheres to the Five Principles of Peaceful Departure, handles foreign military relations independently, carries out military exchanges and cooperation, and does not engage in hegemony, military blocs, military expansion, or stationing troops or establishing military bases abroad. China opposes arms race and advocates effective arms control and disarmament based on the principles of fairness, reasonableness, comprehensiveness and balance. China supports activities taken by the international community that are conducive to maintaining world and regional peace, security, and stability, and supports the efforts made by the international community to resolve international disputes, arms control, and disarmament in a fair and reasonable manner.