China Boasts of Military Buildup While Pushing ‘Dialogue’ with U.S.

Chinese state media boasted of China’s massive military buildup over the weekend while simultaneously claiming Beijing wants nothing more than to renew friendly dialogue with the United States under the Biden administration.

China’s state-run Global Times reported Sunday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has developed “a new type of training system that would improve military training in all respects, strengthen the capability to win wars and build the Chinese military into a world-class one.”

The Global Times did not discuss the system, approved by dictator Xi Jinping — whose many titles also include Chairman of the Central Military Commission — in detail, but the article hinted it would include some combination of real-world combat drills and high-tech simulations. The goal is to “train as if exercises are real wars, boost joint exercises, enhance training with technology, strengthen talent support and follow patterns and laws of training and winning wars.”