The Chinese military should modernize its buildup and management and focus on becoming an elite fighting force that uses digital technologies, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday.

Xi, also the chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark during his inspection of a Ground Force division from the Central Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army.

He also called for the military to strengthen digitized warfare research and databases, execute military doctrines more creatively, utilize more technologies, increase scientific education among troops, and explore more options to build an elite and inventive military.

On Wednesday morning, Xi arrived at the division and inspected modern military hardware. Xi also got aboard the Type 99A tank — China’s new generation main battle tank, dubbed the “King of Land Warfare” by the military — as well as the Hongjian-10 missile carrier to learn their capabilities.

Xi said the PLA should make full use of new technologies and innovations, unleash its full scientific potential, and transform its technological edge into combat advantages.

Xi also praised new recruits for their excellent physical fitness and versatile talents, and urged them to train hard for reconnaissance ability.

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In the afternoon, Xi visited the training simulation center and the history gallery of the division. Xi viewed pictures of the division’s intense battle near the Kaechon region in the Korean Peninsula during War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, known as the Korean War in the West, from 1950 to 1953. He praised the soldiers who fought in it for their valor.

Our military has always fought with great spirit, Xi said. In the past, we had more spirit than steel. Now we have plenty of equipment, so we need an even tougher and stronger spirit to wield it, he said.

Xi emphasized that all effort should be put into combat readiness training, with stronger emphasis on realistic combat training, thus further increasing the military’s ability to win.

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All levels of the military should also place high emphasis on training high quality military talent for digitized warfare, he added.

Zhu Tingchao, an officer from the division, said his division had immediately begun 48 hours of intensive training after Xi announced the start of this year’s military training on Wednesday morning.

“We will focus our training on command system application, military strategy, combat fitness and techniques, with goals to improve our overall combat capability based on network information technologies and digitized systems,” he said.