Article by LTG Qi Jianguo on International Security Affairs.

摘要

The CNA China Studies Division is pleased to make available an in- house translation of an article written by Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). In December 2012, LTG Qi was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff with responsibility for foreign relations and intelligence. A ground forces officer, he spent much of his career in operational assignments in the Nanjing Military Region. At the national level, he has served as Director of the Operations Department of the PLA General Staff Department and as an Assistant to the Chief of the General Staff. The article that follows was published in the 21 January 2013 issue of 'Study Times' ('Xuexi Shibao'), the official weekly newspaper of the Chinese Community Party (CCP) Central Party School. It may represent the first time LTG Qi placed his views on security affairs in the public domain after being elevated to his new post. Couched as an academic piece of work in a scholarly CCP journal, readers should not assume that the article represents the official views of either the PRC government or the PLA. That said, given General Qi's official portfolio (foreign relations and intelligence) and the venue of publication, it warrants the attention of outside readers interested in how a senior Chinese military official views important regional and global security issues, China's own security situation, and especially the United States. Of special interest, readers are directed to the sections in which LTG Qi characterizes the objectives, means, and viability of the U.S. policy of 'Rebalancing to Asia.' Although LTG Qi's analysis may not represent an official PRC position, it is possibly the most detailed public assessment of the rebalancing policy made to date by a senior PRC military official -- in this case, the officer responsible for, among other duties, providing strategic assessments to the CCP leadership.