Xi urges closer officer-soldier ties in military campaign

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for unswerving efforts to strengthen relations between military officers and common soldiers through a campaign inside the military. The campaign, which was initiated in April, requires senior officers from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the armed police to live and train as common soldiers for at least 15 days in grassroots units every one to five years, depending on their rank. Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the campaign will help promote military traditions, improve its work style, strengthen ties between officers and soldiers and reinforce the construction of grassroots military units. Unswerving efforts must be made to ensure that the campaign brings forth solid and effective results, Xi said. The PLA General Political Department has issued a related instruction ordering military officers to solve problems for soldiers and grassroots military units during the campaign. Officers must reflect on their responsibilities and problems through the campaign and make their work more scientific and efficient. The campaign will be part of the implementation of the "mass line," a guideline under which officials and members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are required to prioritize the interests of the people and continue to represent them and work on their behalf. Top CPC leaders decided in April to launch a year-long "mass line" campaign starting from the second half of the year to cement CPC-people ties.