TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Pentagon report said corruption among Chinese officials may have affected the country's 2027 military modernization plans.
According to the China Military Power Report, China's military underwent a widespread anti-corruption campaign starting last year. Between July and December 2023, at least 15 high-ranking Chinese military officers and defense industry executives were removed from their positions.
"In 2023, the PLA experienced a new wave of corruption-related investigations, and removals of senior leaders which may have disrupted its progress toward stated 2027 modernization goals," the report commented.
In June, China announced that former Defense Minister Li Shangfu (李尚福) and his predecessor, Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和), had been charged with corruption for taking bribes in exchange for granting favors. In November, another top-ranking military official, Admiral Miao Hua (苗華), was suspended and investigated.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) laid out plans to modernize the PLA by 2035 and become a “world-class” military by the end of 2049. The Pentagon said China's 2027 modernization goals include accelerating the integration of intelligence, mechanization, and other tools while modernizing military theories, personnel, weapons, and equipment.
US officials have said Xi has previously instructed the PLA to be prepared to invade Taiwan by 2027. They stressed this does not mean an invasion will occur in 2027.
The report also found that China is expanding its nuclear arsenal, increasing military pressure against Taiwan, and strengthening ties with Russia. The US expects China, which has an estimated 600 operational nuclear warheads, to have more than 1,000 by 2030.
Furthermore, China is learning from Russia’s war in Ukraine and applying those lessons to Taiwan, the report said. Beijing has been studying Russia’s evasion of Western sanctions in case the US and its allies employ similar measures during a Taiwan conflict.
According to an accompanying Pentagon report, "The PLA made uneven progress toward its 2027 capability milestone for modernization, which, if realized, could make the PLA a more credible military tool for the CCP's Taiwan unification efforts.”