China’s Xi Jinping urges troops to ‘focus on the battlefield’ during trip to military medical school

While visiting Chongqing’s Army Medical University, Xi says China needs ‘new generation of red military doctors’

Chinese leader also stresses importance of specialised battlefield medicine, improved training, logistical support, and well-being of troops

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Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs a symposium on Tuesday during his three-day inspection trip to Chongqing. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:18pm, 25 Apr 2024Updated: 7:34pm, 25 Apr 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited an army medical university and called on students and military personnel to “focus on the battlefield” as Beijing steps up its war readiness.

Xi visited Army Medical University in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing on Tuesday to examine the university’s academic work in battlefield medicine and inspected its battlefield emergency medical equipment, according to a report by state news agency Xinhua on Thursday.

General He Weidong, the second-ranked vice-chairman of China’s powerful Central Military Commission, accompanied Xi during his visit to the university, which was part of a three-day inspection trip to Chongqing municipality that concluded on Wednesday.

According to Xinhua, Xi called for strengthening logistical support, improving the combat effectiveness of troops, and promoting the physical and mental well-being of officers and soldiers.

“It is necessary to adhere to moral education and personnel training for combat readiness, deepen educational and teaching reforms, and cultivate a new generation of red military doctors who are morally upright and capable,” Xi said.

Army Medical University specialises in fields such as high-altitude military medicine, war trauma medicine and burn medicine, according to its website.

It also has China’s only national laboratory for research on injuries including trauma, burns, and composite injuries.