March 8, 2024
Before assuming naval command, Liu Huaqing proposed a naval development plan in 1975. Liu’s vision for the PLA Navy (PLAN)’s new strategy and its future development impressed Deng Xiaoping. After Deng launched economic and military reforms in 1978, the CCP Central Committee accepted Liu’s plan and shifted the focus of its defense modernization to naval construction. Liu became the “father of the modern Chinese navy.” After assuming the PLAN’s command in 1982, Liu emphasized China’s overseas trade, maritime interests, and a strong naval force. He was ranked an admiral in 1988 and began to serve as Deputy Secretary General and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. He became one of the seven members of the Central Committee Politburo’s Standing Committee and the country’s third top leader until 1998. Jiang Zemin endorsed Liu’s perception of China’s sea power, naval war readiness, and sovereignty over the disputed islands in the East and South China Seas. As a result, the PLA shifted from traditional ground war preparation to new naval warfare in blue waters. Jiang supported Liu’s aircraft carrier initiative. In 2012, Hu Jintao commissioned China’s first aircraft carrier, Liaoning. In 2019, Xi Jinping commissioned a second carrier, Shandong. Liu Huaqing was often dubbed “the father of China’s aircraft carrier.” As a man of both action and letters, Liu composed a large body of naval literature, including strategic theory, naval war doctrine, operational principles, and technological development for the new century. His doctrine demonstrates an acute awareness of complex and intermingling philosophies including modern, Western naval influences like Mahan. His writings continue to influence the PLAN in the 21st century.
Xiaobing Li is a professor of history and the Don Betz Endowed Chair in International Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma. He holds a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University and is the executive editor of the Chinese Historical Review. He served in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Currently, Li is an editorial board member of the Journal of Military History, the Journal of Chinese Military History, and the Journal of War Studies. He is the author, editor, co-author, or co-editor of his recent books: China’s New Navy: The Evolution of PLAN from the People’s Revolution to a 21st Century Cold War (Naval Institute Press, 2023), Sino-American Relations: A New Cold War (first co-editor, Amsterdam University Press, 2022), The Dragon in the Jungle: The Chinese Army in the Vietnam War (Oxford University Press, 2020), East Asia and the West: An Entangled History (first co-author, Cognella, 2020), Attack at Chosin: The Chinese Second Offensive Campaign in Korea (U of Oklahoma Press, 2020), A Century of Student Movements in China: The Mountain Movers, 1919-2019 (first co-editor, Lexington, 2020), Building Hu’s Army: Chinese Military Assistance to North Vietnam (U Press of Kentucky, 2019), The History of Taiwan (ABC-CLIO, 2019), China’s War in Korea: Strategic Culture and Geopolitics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), Corruption and Anti-corruption in Modern China (first co-editor, Lexington, 2019), The Cold War in East Asia (Routledge, 2018), Power versus Law in Modern China: Cities, Courts, and the Communist Party (co-author, UPK, 2017), Urbanization and Party Survival in China: People vs. Power (first co-editor, Lexington, 2017), and Modern China: Understanding the Modern Nation (ABC-CLIO, 2016).