On 17 November 2011, Major Jiao Liang, guest researcher from World Military Studies Department, AMS, PLA in Beijing, held a presentation on "China's Rising Military Power and its Implications" within the Asia Forum of ISDP. The presentation consisted of three parts; Chinese approaches to military and economic power since the 1960s; the complex security environment the country faces today and how the central government seeks to modernize the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to withstand future challenges.

In the first part, Mr. Jiao described how the PRC, during the 1960s and 70s, focused on expanding its military power as a response to a challenging international security situation. This was followed by a shift of priority to economic development in the 80s and 90s. In the 21st century, however, sustainable economic development and military modernization are given equal priority. In the second part, Major Jiao argued that it is mainly the Taiwan independence secessionist forces; the dual character of US' security approach towards China, as well as terrorism, separatism and extremism that pose threats to and create a complex security environment for PRC. In the third and final part, Mr. Jiao explained how the PLA is currently modernized based on a so-called "informationization" process, which refers to a procedure where advanced military information technology will be fully exploited, with the purpose of achieving exchanges of information sharing and knowledge in the battlefield and improve combat abilities in the local wars under high-tech conditions.

In his final remarks, Mr. Jiao stressed China's commitment to a peaceful development of its military power, with the main goals of maintaining territorial and national sovereignty. Moreover, a clear sign of China's dedication to bring peace to the world is its increasing participation in UN mission forces. The country aims to take further steps toward an open and transparent political system, and also put effort into confidence-building measures.