China to accelerate defence modernization drive, says president Hu Jintao

Beijing: China''s military forces will speed up their modernization drive over the coming five years, and adopt high-tech battle systems along with an upgraded training programme, Chinese president Hu Jintao said Monday as part of his keynote speech at the opening of the Communist Party Congress. The Congress convenes every five years.

"In keeping with the new trends in world military affairs and the new requirements of China''s development, we must promote innovation in military theory, technology, organization and development," Hu said.

Hu Jin Tao is not only the party''s leader, but also head of the party commission that controls the People''s Liberation Army (PLA), the world''s largest standing army with 2.3 million members. Unlike other militaries, the PLA swears loyalty to the Communist Party, not the Chinese state. According to Hu, the party''s overlordship over the armed forces remained a "fundamental principle."

As before, PLA members are heavily represented at the Congress, accounting for about 13 per cent of the 2,217 delegates attending, even though they account for just 2.2 per cent of the party''s 73 million members. It is estimated that about 1.6 million members of the PLA and the paramilitary People''s Armed Police are party members.

China''s defence spending has grown in tandem with the country''s economic growth, and shot up 17.8 per cent this year to nearly $45 billion, making it the largest annual increase in more than a decade. The Pentagon disputes official Chinese defence spending figures, as the official budget doesn''t include major weapons purchases and other items, and claims that real defence spending is much more.

Hu said that China will "adjust and reform the systems of defence-related science, technology and industry and of weapons and equipment procurement, and enhance our capacity for independent innovation in research and development of weapons and equipment."

So far, the PLA has been heavily dependent on Russian military technology for the upgrade and development of its military programmes.