The year 2024 was marked by conflicts across the globe, from the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan to the devastating wars between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Gaza and Israel. However, it does not seem that the ongoing war around the globe has ended. Now, is China gearing up for war?
Chairman Xi Jinping is very serious in his admonitions that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) should get ready for war. Such preparations are literally and very visibly seen in the hardening of military air bases and the construction of a brand new command complex to protect personnel against bombardment.
China preparing for war? PLA burrows underground, hardens air bases being constructed, 10 times larger than…; satellite images show…
Satellite images indicate that the PLA is actively engaged in multiple infrastructure projects, with the most notable being a new command complex. This high-security facility is currently under construction about 25-30 km southwest of the capital city Beijing.
At the end of January, the Financial Times released a report on the command complex, revealing that it is being built to serve as a wartime command-and-control center for the PLA. Covering around 1,500 acres, the facility is especially remarkable for its size, being ten times larger than the Pentagon.
Satellite imagery shows deep holes burrowed into the ground, which will eventually house hardened bunkers, likely strong enough to resist nuclear attack. Once completed, it will be the world’s largest military command center. Already, some observers have dubbed it Beijing Military City, and more than 100 cranes are at work there daily.
According to the report, over 100 cranes are working daily at the command complex site, which spans approximately 4 kilometers in width. Construction is also taking place at considerable depths, making the site more resilient to bombings or large-scale attacks, offering a higher chance of survival. Not much detailed information has emerged about this new facility under construction in China, and verifying the claims being made about the complex remains challenging. The report mentions that several underground nodes connected by subterranean tunnels are being developed, resembling a subway network. These unverified details raise significant questions about China’s new military command complex, and it is crucial to receive timely answers to these concerns for global security.
Could analysts be mistaken, however, and the whole area be nothing more than a residential site? The location certainly stands out given the dearth of large, new residential real estate construction sites, as China wilts under a sharp economic slump.
Notably, there is no commercial advertising or marketing associated with any new development in this particular area near Beijing. Furthermore, the Chinese internet is silent on what is happening at this worksite, and all this is evidence that a top-secret project is being built on behalf of the military.
Although there are no military guards at the huge construction site, public access is prohibited all around, with checkpoints ensuring no interlopers can gain access. Neither photographs nor drones are allowed, and nearby hiking and tourist sites are now off limits. Houses in the adjacent Qinglonghu area were being bulldozed to make way for this new development too. Construction at the sprawling site began in mid-2024, with the coordinates 39°49’7.65″N 116° 3’58.22″E marking its approximate midpoint.
As per the news agency ANI report, such a large-scale effort should not come as a surprise, as the Chinese Communist Party goes all out to mark the PLA’s 100th anniversary in 2027. By that date, Xi wants to have the capability of attacking Taiwan. Literally, Xi has ordered the PLA to “accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligentization, while boosting the speed of modernization in military theories, organizations, personnel and weapons and equipment”.
At the time of writing, China’s Foreign Ministry had failed to make any comment on the existence or purpose of the new construction. The Chinese Embassy in Washington had told the Financial Times it was “not aware of the details”, and also stressed that China was “committed to the path of peaceful development and a defense policy that is defensive in nature.”
Currently, the major secure headquarters for the PLA, and for the top body led by Xi, the Central Military Commission (CMC), is located in the Western Hills of Beijing at the approximate coordinates of 40°0’39.27″N 116°14’10.70″E. Also known as the Joint Combat Command Center, this large but dated underground fortress was constructed decades ago during the Cold War.
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