Chinese Strategic Force

This is kind of an interesting news that I saw today. In case you don't know, the 4 major branches of PLA are the army, navy, air force and 2nd artillery. The 2nd artillery basically controls all of PRC’s land-based strategic missile assets as well as the majority of its land-based conventional theater missile assets. It is probably PLA's most secret branch. The article posted on Xinhua is as follows:

Top nuclear generals: "strategic deterrence" enhanced in information age
Source: Xinhua | 02-02-2024 14:01
BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's top two nuclear forces generals said that their troops had successfully built up "strategic deterrence" by enhancing capability of intercontinental strike and creating a versatile missile inventory.

General Jing Zhiyuan, commander of the People's Liberation Army(PLA) Second Artillery Corps, the missile force which controls China's nuclear weapons stockpile, and the forces' political commissar General Peng Xiaofeng co-authored an article on one of China's most authoritative publications.

The two generals wrote on the Sunday edition of the semimonthly Qiushi (seeking truth) Journal that the Second Artillery has developed itself from nuclear forces to versatile ones that combine both nuclear and conventional missiles.

The Qiushi Journal, affiliated to the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, often publishes articles written by ranking Party or government officials and influential scholars.

In the past three decades, General Jing and General Peng wrote, the Second Artillery participated in several major tri-service military exercises which were aimed at reiterating the firm resolve of China to maintain its territorial integrity and guard national security.

The Second Artillery has transformed itself into the most intelligent contingent among the PLA, with 78.2 percent of officers holding at least university degrees. The missile force also has the country's leading missile experts, including several members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and capable commanders, the article said.

Deng Xiaoping, main architect of the country's economic and social transformation which began in 1978, pointed out three decades ago that China needed to develop "capable nuclear shield" to "earn more say and a higher international status in a coming new world order."

In the 1990s, Jing said, the central leadership emphasized that China should build nuclear missile forces that were "in proportion with" the country's placement in the world power hierarchy as wellas a "sufficiently effective" conventional missile defense.

In the 21st century, the two generals said, the Second Artillery Corps has taken new steps toward the construction of "information technology-dependent strategic missile forces".

They concluded their article with five points to be worked on for the future of the Corps, including further development of the strategic missile forces under the leadership of the CPC, encouragement of new initiatives and technological innovation.

The two generals said, "We will accurately follow the policies and guidelines of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission."

They also noted the Corps would advance cultivation of high-level talents and better military preparedness for shaping both conventional and nuclear missile forces that might get the upper hand of possible conflicts in the age of information.

I think it was interesting that it mentioned 2nd Artillery is 78.2% college graduate, which is quite high. I wonder how that would compare with US and other Western nations. I would guess lower, because China only recently started this process of getting higher educated armed force. Strategic forces, for obvious reasons, need to be operated by more intelligent and competent soldiers/officers, so it's not a surprise that it is ahead of the other 3 branches.

It is noteworthy that China is trying to increase its nuclear force to be "in proportion with" the country's placement in the world power hierarchy, but from the pace of induction of DF-31/A and JL-2, it doesn't look like it's trying to challenge the strategic force of USA and Russia. That would not stop the China-blue group from freaking out, but it should be evidence that China is not seeking nuclear parity. What should be noteworthy is 2nd artillery's continual improvement in its conventional strike force whether ballistic or cruise missile. With the continued improvement to the beidou navigational system, the conventional force will become more accurate and potent.