The PLA focuses on enhancing joint training to improve the integrated joint operational capabilities of various services and arms. It gives priority to the training of joint campaign commanders and command organs, joint field exercises and the training of different support forces in integrated support. It works to enhance the commanding and organizing capabilities of strategic and operational commanders and command organs, and the joint operational capabilities of the services and arms. Keeping in mind the future informationized battlefield, the PLA closely follows the emerging trend of integrated joint operations, conducts integrated training in an innovative way, and actively explores training approaches for the internal integration of fighting units, systems integration of fighting elements and comprehensive integration of fighting systems.

The PLA conducts training in strict accordance with pre-set plans, and is strengthening the scientific management of the overall processes and all the aspects of training. It is exploring new modes for organizing and managing training under conditions of informationization, and intensifying precise and mission-oriented management according to law to keep training processes standardized. It is improving training procedures, making strict training assessments, and setting and improving training standards to meet the requirements of informationized operations. Priority is given to the training of command organs and collective training. The PLA uses live-ammunition exercises and means such as exercise assessment systems for a comprehensive evaluation of the training and combat capabilities of the troops.

Political Work

The basic tasks of the PLA's political work are as follows: ensuring the success of the reform and opening up of the country and the building of a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, as well as promoting the socialist modernization; advancing the revolution in military affairs with Chinese features, as well as the revolutionization, modernization and regularization of the PLA; guaranteeings--politically, ideologically and organizationally--the nature of the people's army under the absolute leadership of the Party; upholding the PLA's socialist ethical standards, the goal of which is to cultivate military personnel with lofty ideals, high moral standards, a wide range of knowledge and a keen sense of discipline; ensuring the PLA's internal unity, unity between the PLA and the government, and unity between the PLA and the people; and ensuring the PLA's combat effectiveness and the accomplishment of the PLA's tasks.

In the long years of fighting revolutionary wars and seeking modernization, a fine tradition of democracy has taken root and a complete democratic system has developed within the PLA. The conference of service people's representatives at the levels of the brigade and regiment is part of this democratic system, which ensures the practice of democracy and the right of service people to exercise their democratic rights and participate in troop management. The conference of service people's representatives is mainly tasked with reviewing the work reports of their commanders, supervising their units' compliance with and implementation of regulations, orders and directives from the above, voicing service people's opinions, raising demands on their behalf and monitoring the use of funds in their units. Guided by Party committees and political organs at the same level, units at the levels of brigade and regiment hold annual conferences of service people's representatives. The representatives are selected through bottom-up democratic elections from among active service people and employees on the PLA payroll. Led by Party branches or grassroots Party committees and directed by military and political chiefs, the service people's committee is an organization through which companies and company-level units practice democracy in political, economic and military affairs, ensure service people's democratic rights and conduct service people's activities.

The PLA conducts political work in a creative way to raise the overall performance of its officers and men. The PLA educates its officers and men in its historic mission, ideals, beliefs, fighting spirit, and the socialist concept of honor and disgrace, to raise mission awareness, foster revolutionary ideals, strengthen the will to fight, draw a clear line between right and wrong, and arouse enthusiasm for training. The PLA conducts psychological training and studies on psychological operations, and has in place a mechanism involving both political and medical institutions to provide psychological education, catharsis and health service. The CMC and the general headquarters/departments have formulated a series of policies and regulations to strengthen the building of grassroots units. Most of the commanding organs at and above the regiment level have mechanisms to coordinate grassroots work. In the course of implementing the Outline for Armed Forces Building at the Grassroots Level, a large number of advanced grassroots units and excellent soldiers have come to the fore.