Peace disease

Peace disease (Chinese: 和平病) is a supposed problem with China generally and the People's Liberation Army in particular, in which the nation is weakened by a lack of combat experience.

President Xi Jinping declared peace disease a threat in March 2018,^[1] and People's Liberation Army Daily used the phrase in a July piece interpreted as reflecting policy.^[2]

The concept has been called "the most important" Chinese military doctrine for defense analysts to understand, that "goes to the heart of the Chinese Communist Party's worries about the PLA's capability".^[3] The Conversation said that this term, and others reflecting internal criticism of the PLA, are "curiously absent" from publications intended for non-Chinese audiences.^[4]

Sources

Lyons Jones, Charlie (26 August 2019), Xi believes a 'peace disease' hampers China's military modernisation, Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Minnie Chan (July 3, 2018). "China's army infiltrated by 'peace disease' after years without a war, says its official newspaper". South China Morning Post.
Hong, Wenjun Zhang Shuo (2018-03-17). "两会闻思录：习主席再提消除"和平病"，给人警示" [Two sessions of hearing and thinking: President Xi again mentioned eliminating the "peace disease", giving people a warning]. mod.gov.cn (in Chinese). China Military Network.
Gill, Bates; Ni, Adam (April 22, 2020), "Is it time for a 'new way of war?' What China's army reforms mean for the rest of the world", The Conversation, Overcoming the 'peace disease'...curiously absent when speaking to a foreign audience...[is an example of] pithy formulaic sayings of a few characters summaris[ing] PLA shortcomings.

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Further reading