“The PLA still isn’t the force Xi Jinping wants, not quite yet.”

Executive Summary

The Chinese Military Parade in September 2025 revealed a rapidly modernized PLA with capabilities focused on large-scale peer-to-peer naval operations in the Western Pacific, but it continues to suffer from weak and corrupt command structures and officers. 

The parade itself highlighted three main areas of impressive and never-before-seen Chinese advancements on undersea, drone and nuclear capabilities. Highlights included the impressive XLUUVs (eXtra Large Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle), loyal-wingman GJ-11 models, and a complete nuclear triad deployment system. 

Particularly important were the hypersonic missiles and HSU100/ AJX002 XLUUV models, which could be taken as a direct message that the Chinese are capable of challenging the security amalgam supporting the Western Pacific peace. The presence of materiel stood out against an absence of key personnel. Recent high-ranking officer purges indicate that Xi Jinping does not consider the PLA a professional fighting force and that it is still plagued by corruption.