Chinese military officials have called for increased participation of the civilian sector to support the development and war readiness of armed forces in the wake of the major strides made by the country's high-tech industry with the development of DeepSeek and other AI tools.
During the ongoing annual session of China's Parliament, officials of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have advocated for the allocation of more civilian resources, especially in emerging technologies.
According to LA Daily, the PLA delegates made the call during the annual session of China's national legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
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"We need to innovate the model of transforming local emerging field resources into war (preparation), NPC deputy Liu Shuwei, a lieutenant general in the PLA Air Force, was quoted as saying by the PLA Daily.
Liu also called for research centres to focus on key areas such as unmanned systems and underwater and cyberspace warfare. He urged Beijing to optimise the certification, bidding and procurement processes for the civilian sector's participation in military projects, saying this would help to streamline the flow of emerging civilian resources for military application.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has also called for intensified joint civil-military endeavours. In his interaction with military officials during the parliament session last week, Xi urged efforts to effectively leverage the strengths and resources of the civilian sectors to enhance the quality and efficiency of military development, with an accelerated focus on developing new, high-quality combat capabilities.