ABSTRACT
In the thirty-plus years since the PLA's last major ground campaign against a foreign enemy, the technology and complexity of war have increased dramatically. Although slow to accept many of the potentials of modern technology, in the 1990s the PLA acknowledged the new efficiencies, extended ranges, and lethality of advanced weapons systems and modified elements of its modernization process to better integrate new equipment into its force structure and planning. The PLA also took advantage of advances in China's civilian and dual-use technology base to provide capabilities undreamed of a generation ago, particularly in the realm of command, control, communications, and computers. By the end of the 20th century, the PLA had developed a new doctrine to fight “local wars under modern high technology conditions” on China's periphery (later modified to “local war under the conditions of informationalization”).
