Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Chinese People's Liberation Army opens 2026 training season to boost combat readiness

China

China

China

Chinese People's Liberation Army opens 2026 training season to boost combat readiness

2026-01-05 01:06 Last Updated At:13:31

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday launched new year military training across all units, with forces from the army, navy, air force, rocket force, and armed police conducting intensive combat-oriented exercises to boost battlefield readiness.

On the first training day, a brigade of the Army's 79th Group Army conducted integrated combat-oriented training at an outdoor training ground. The troops continuously executed over 10 individual and squad training subjects from the training outline, focusing on enhancing their battlefield adaptability and response capabilities.

Naval forces were also active. Along the coast of the Yellow Sea, the Navy's Type 055 guided-missile destroyer Nanchang, in coordination with destroyer Xining, missile frigate Weifang, and other destroyers and frigates, carried out subjects such as naval gunnery landborne and seaborne target practices, and live firing of anti-frogman lethal rounds. They also conducted fleet air defense exercises in coordination with naval aviation, testing the troops' ability to transition from training to combat.

"Now, there is more combat-oriented training that involves the full process and all elements, aligning with future naval warfare. Whether it's basic training or coordinated training, it is no longer single-subject, single-ship, or single-platform. Now it is system-wide linkage, integration of war and training, and multi-subject fusion, testing the combat effectiveness of the ships under complex conditions," said Fang Wanhao, an officer with a destroyer flotilla of the PLA Navy.

The Air Force, involving multiple branches such as aviation, surface-to-air missile, and radar troops, conducted joint training exercises with multiple aircraft types in realistic battlefield environments to hone their combat skills. The Joint Logistics Support Force's motor transport brigade focused on difficult and critical subjects related to transport and support under extreme cold conditions. By fully integrating real combat scenarios and setting up complex emergency situations, the training aimed to enhance the officers' and soldiers' emergency response capabilities in extreme environments.

On the first training day of the new year, officers and soldiers of the People's Armed Police Yunnan Corps conducted specialized, intensive training for subjects including emergency rescue and counter-terrorism capture and annihilation, adhering to a combat-oriented training philosophy.

The Rocket Force deployed its units across multiple routes and positions, setting up formations on various training grounds. They simultaneously conducted combat-oriented training on difficult and critical subjects such as cross-regional maneuver and rapid fire assault, promoting the efficient integration of personnel with weapons and equipment, and the information network system.

"For the new year's training, we will focus on hard and intensive training closely aligned with operational missions. We will strengthen adversarial testing at extreme boundaries and in complex environments, enhance the support of technological means, and forge the superior skills to be one second faster and one move better than the enemy. We will truly achieve readiness at all times and the ability to fight at any moment, ensuring new breakthroughs in improving the level of combat-oriented training readiness," said Li Zhiyong, a PLA Rocket Force officer.

Chinese People's Liberation Army opens 2026 training season to boost combat readiness

Chinese People's Liberation Army opens 2026 training season to boost combat readiness

Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged solid efforts to accomplish the objectives and tasks for this year's economic and social development to make a good start in implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan while presiding over a plenary meeting of the State Council in Beijing on Monday.

Li said that since the beginning of this year, China's economy has registered steady growth featuring new momentums and structural improvement.

In the face of problems such as insufficient domestic demand and growing difficulties in some industries and enterprises, Li called for a focus on development goals to continuously push for innovation-driven and high-quality economic development by leveraging existing policies and rolling out new practical and effective policies in a timely manner.

Noting that this year marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), Li emphasized the need to give full play to the plan's guiding role in all areas, urging efforts to maintain steady economic operation and expand domestic demand.

Efforts should be strengthened to advance the construction of water networks, new-type power grids, computing power networks, next-generation communication networks, urban underground pipeline networks and logistics networks, and innovate investment and financing mechanisms to attract social capital, Li said.

Li called for efforts to stabilize external demand and expand the space for mutually beneficial international cooperation in trade and economy.

It is imperative to leverage science and technology to accelerate transition from old to new growth drivers, increase support for emerging pillar industries and future industries, continuously promote the upgrading of traditional industries, and consolidate the foundation for the real economy, Li said.

Li also stressed doing a good job in ensuring and improving people's livelihood, boosting employment, increasing people's incomes, improving public services, carrying out disaster relief, and preventing the resurgence of poverty.

Chinese premier urges efforts to accomplish economic objectives, tasks

Chinese premier urges efforts to accomplish economic objectives, tasks

Recommended Articles