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Xinlu Liang

Chinese military academics have stepped up calls to overhaul defence language training, arguing that linguistic proficiency has become as critical as firepower in modern warfare – a lesson starkly underscored by the Ukraine war.
Among them is Lu Danyun, a professor at the military-affiliated National University of Defence Technology and a representative on China’s top lawmaking body, the National People’s Congress.
In a report published in the official People’s Liberation Army (PLA) newspaper, Lu said she planned to submit proposals addressing the issue at the coming “two sessions” political gathering.
Delegates are expected to gather in Beijing this week for the annual legislative and advisory meetings, which this year will see the central government roll out its latest five-year plan – covering 2026 to 2030 – and map out a blueprint for all sectors over that period.
According to the article published last Wednesday in the official PLA Daily, Lu argued that the digitised battlefields of the 21st century demanded a new breed of soldier, as adept at data analysis and psychological operations as at handling a weapon.

Lu, from the university’s College of International Studies, has been a military academy instructor for more than three decades. She has researched military foreign language capability development and built a national defence language curriculum system.
Her latest advocacy follows years of research visits to some 50 military units across the country, from border outposts to frontline troops and command academies, according to the article.
During one of the survey visits, soldiers reported inconsistent certification standards for defence language proficiency. Lu’s team addressed the problem by developing a standardised grading standard tailored to the military’s actual needs.
“As a specialised institution dedicated to cultivating national defence language talent, our college has closely aligned with actual combat needs in recent years,” Lu was quoted as saying.
“We have continuously trained reserve national defence language talent by hosting the entire army military translation challenge and executing language support missions to serve combat readiness.”


The push for a different approach to foreign language training is underpinned by a growing body of academic analysis within China’s military educational system, which has included lessons from the war in Ukraine.
It is a top-down effort to integrate foreign language skills into the military system – transforming it from classroom learning into a technology-driven, combat-oriented element of national defence.
A recent paper by Jiang Lina and Li Jing, also members of faculty at the National University of Defence Technology, explicitly framed the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a case study in the vital importance of linguistic skills.
Published last December by the journal China Defence Conversion, the paper argued that modern warfare had transformed language from a mere communication tool into a critical instrument for intelligence gathering, information warfare and shaping global opinion.
Between 2022 and 2024, Russia’s military held three consecutive conferences on the “linguistic support of military activities”, the researchers noted. “The ‘language issue’ has become a matter of high concern and it is one we must take seriously,” they wrote.
The researchers said their analysis revealed a battlefield where information was a decisive weapon and highlighted how open-source intelligence, intercepted communications and the battle for narrative on social media had become critical domains.
In such an environment, they argued, a translator was no longer just a translator but a “crucial node” in the intelligence and influence-gathering network.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict had underscored the need for personnel who were not only fluent but possessed “a high degree of loyalty” to accurately interpret information and resist foreign psychological operations, the researchers wrote.


China’s current model was lagging, they warned, with its traditional focus on reading and grammar producing graduates who could parse a technical manual but struggled to negotiate a simulated arms deal or coordinate a joint patrol.
The paper called for cultivating people with “compound talents” who were politically reliable, linguistically proficient and “combat-wise”. Such preparation was essential for “maintaining national security and responding to future conflicts”, it added.
The authors proposed a three-pronged approach to reform: promoting interdisciplinary education combining language, intelligence and information technology; leveraging artificial intelligence to develop immersive battlefield simulations for more realistic training experiences; and expanding practical opportunities for cadets to take part in international military activities such as joint exercises.
The academics’ coordinated push reflects a broader recognition within China’s defence establishment, as the PLA’s global footprint expands from Gulf of Aden escort missions to multinational joint exercises amid an intensifying rivalry with the US-led West.
In another article in February, three senior lecturers from the PLA Air Force Early Warning Academy called for overhauling English teaching at military schools.
Curriculum content was heavily skewed towards reading, with little emphasis on practical skills needed for joint exercises or international negotiations, they noted, warning of a disconnect between classroom training and real-world needs.
Many teachers lacked military or language expertise and faculty training was insufficient, with limited use of modern resources like online courses and simulations, they added.
Highlighting the need for strong English skills, the authors said this was vital for China’s military operations abroad, peacekeeping and arms sales.
They proposed reforms including curriculum overhaul, recruiting experienced officers, adopting interactive teaching methods, integrating technology and assessing practical skills to better prepare soldiers for global military cooperation.
Meanwhile, Chinese universities have been shifting their focus from traditional language degrees to country-specific and regional studies, establishing about 450 regional studies centres across more than 180 institutions.
Observers have said the move aims to develop interdisciplinary expertise aligned with China’s strategic interests – also highlighted in the latest five-year plan – reflecting a broader effort to create a uniquely Chinese framework for understanding the world that moves beyond Western paradigms.


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Digitised battlefields demand new breed of soldier, as skilled at data analysis and psy-ops as at wielding a weapon, veteran instructor says


Digitised battlefields demand new breed of soldier, as skilled at data analysis and psy-ops as at wielding a weapon, veteran instructor says.


Language as a weapon? PLA academics push for training overhaul, cite Ukraine war

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Digitised battlefields demand new breed of soldier, as skilled at data analysis and psy-ops as at wielding a weapon, veteran instructor says

Digitised battlefields demand new breed of soldier, as skilled at data analysis and psy-ops as at wielding a weapon, veteran instructor says