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The PLA at 99: how China’s military went from ragtag rifles to world-class force

As the People’s Liberation Army marks its 99th anniversary on August 1, one year from the deadline for its centenary goals, its evolution highlights the…

By Samantha Johnson / July 30, 2026
As the People’s Liberation Army marks its 99th anniversary on August 1, one year from the deadline for its centenary goals, its evolution highlights the past, present and future of China’s military strategy. In the first part of a series, Liu Zhen examines how the PLA’s strategies have developed from guerrilla warfare to hi-tech conflict.
In April 1932, Xi Zhongxun, 18, led the newly formed Fifth Detachment of the Red Army’s Shaanxi-Gansu Guerrilla Force marching in the mountains in Yongshou county, Shaanxi province.
Reorganised by the young communist from a mutinous battalion of the local warlord’s Northwest Army, the 200-strong unit was trying to link up with another Red Army force nearby.

According to accounts by Xi and others, the soldiers lacked training and were equipped with a motley selection of weapons – mostly outdated bolt-action rifles and a few machine guns, but no artillery. They also had chronic shortages of clothing and footwear, food and ammunition.

The Communist Party’s political work boosted their discipline and morale, but equipment and logistical difficulties remained – and if anything, worsened over time.

Ultimately, exhausted and out of food and munitions, the troops were overwhelmed by local bandits and forced to disperse.

More than 80 years later, Xi’s son, Xi Jinping, assumed command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and pledged to build it into a “world-class military” by the middle of this century.

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