On 1 August, Major General Shang Hong, Defense Attaché of China in South Africa, published an article on IOL entitled “Strengthening Mission Responsibility and Safeguarding World Peace”. Full text below:

This year marks the 97th Anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. As a people’s armed force founded by the the Communist Party of China, since its foundation, the People’s Liberation Army had bravely devoted itself into the the historical torrent of seeking liberation and happiness for Chinese people as well as seeking the independence and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. In these 97 years, always holding high the banner of the CPC, the people’s armed force grew and strengthened in battles, inheritance and construction. It went through the smoke and flames of war and overcame various obstacles along the way, and always dare to fight and win, always unite and strive, always produce talented people, always be pure and glorious, always maintain strict laws and regulations.

Looking back on the journey with passion, looking forward to the future with full confidence. Standing at the new historical starting point, the people’s armed forces will be under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s thinking on strengthening the military, take on its original aspiration and mission with bravery, succeed in its historical test with loyalty, and pace towards a new era and a new journey with perseverance.

Anchoring the mission of strengthening the military, 

forging the world-class forces

A strong country must have a strong military, and only with a strong military, a country could enjoy peace and safety. Following the Party's 18th National Congress, the PLA has comprehensively implemented Xi Jinping’s thinking on strengthening the military, implemented the Military Strategic Guideline for a New Era, stuck to the principle of Party’s absolute leadership over the army, continued to enhance the political loyalty of the armed forces, strengthened them through reform and technology, ran them in accordance with the law, comprehensively promoted its strategic capabilities in emerging fields, forged ahead bravely towards the grand target of fully transforming the people’s armed forces into world-class forces, and to Safeguard China’s sovereignty, security and development interests with greater capability and more reliable measures.

Safeguarding world peace, taking on the responsibility of 

the armed force of a big country

China’s armed forces faithfully implements the idea of Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, and provides more public security goods for the international community. Since 1990, China’s armed forces have sent almost 50000 peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping missions in over 20 countries and regions, who are hailed by the international community as a key factor and force in peacekeeping operations. As of June 2024, China’s armed forces have sent more than 46 batches of naval ships to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the coast of Somalia, safely escorting over 7290 Chinese and foreign ships in more than 1640 batches. China’s armed forces have turned the dangerous waters into a golden waterway through their actions. China always adheres to the defensive National Defence Policy, no matter how it might develop, China will never seek hegemony, expansion or spheres of influence, and will forever play a steadfast role for the peace and stability of the human kind. 

Committing to the idea of shared destiny, 

deepening bilateral relations between China and South Africa

Even though China and South Africa are geographically far apart, the two countries and the militaries had established profound friendship in the early years during the South African Liberations. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa, the military relations between China and South Africa enjoyed a steady development, with the practical cooperation gradually deepened. There are new developments in high-level exchanges, cooperation mechanism construction, joint exercises, logistics support, military health and international peacekeeping. At present, the military relations between the two countries are at its best in the history, and has become an important support of the China- South African Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

In nowadays, changes of the world, of the times and of the history are unfolding in a unprecedented way, and the human kind are once more standing at the crossroad. As a responsible big country, China resolutely upholds the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, is committed to the path of

peaceful development, and has always been the builder of world peace, contributor to global development and defender of international order. As a military for peace, China’s armed forces would like to work with the global forces for peace including the South Africa National Defence Forces, in the spirit of building community with a shared future for mankind, to deliver on the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and to strive for a better world of lasting peace and security.