China's Xi Jinping told the People's Liberation Army this week to intensify the military application of artificial intelligence and unmanned systems, telling a Politburo study session that the force should build toward what the official readout called an "intelligent military system." The directive landed days before the PLA's ninety-ninth anniversary and squarely on the modernization targets Beijing has set for its centenary in 2027.
President Xi Jinping reviews troops during a massive military parade that showcased the PLA’s latest arsenal, in Beijing on September 3, 2025. Photo: XinhuaAccording to the state news agency Xinhua, as noted by Bloomberg, Xi told the session that the PLA should strengthen the military application of unmanned intelligent technologies, deepen the development of networked information systems, and gradually build an intelligent military. The report singles out autonomous and AI-enabled capability as the direction of travel and ties it to the "intelligentization" doctrine that has guided PLA planning for years. Xi paired the technology push with a renewed anti-corruption drive inside the military and the familiar insistence that the armed forces answer, always, to the Party.
The Race With Washington
Obviously this is about geopolitical dominance. Beijing's public posture increasingly treats AI and unmanned platforms as the technologies that will reshape modern warfare, and Xi's remarks land while the United States
