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Recalling the past, the mainland's armed forces faced many difficulties, with outdated equipment and a lack of ammunition, and compared with the United States, the world's number one military power in that era, there was really a huge disparity, like between heaven and earth.
What is exciting, however, is that today's Chinese armed forces have successfully built sophisticated weapons and equipment such as warplanes, missiles, and warships with excellent performance, and have successfully surpassed or even reached a level comparable to the United States in terms of overall strength and research and development capabilities.
Although Mr. Zhang Zhaozhong exaggerated the military gap between China and the United States in the past due to various special reasons, he is now able to evaluate this issue in a more objective and fair manner.
In the same external environment, even if our weapons and equipment are slightly insufficient, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with its indomitable fighting spirit, will definitely not be afraid of any challenge.
It is precisely because of the wise policy decision of reform and opening up and the farsightedness of the state leaders that the mainland has been able to move forward steadily and gradually realize the grand goal of national defense modernization. The rapid development of the economy has laid a solid foundation for the modernization of national defense, and we have every reason to firmly believe that the glorious moment of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is coming.
During the period from the 80s to the 90s of the last century, the level of equipment of the mainland army was relatively backward, and there was a huge gap between it and the United States. The leaders at that time profoundly realized that economic construction was the most important task at present, so the process of national defense modernization was forced to temporarily slow down.
Due to the shortage of military spending, it has become a major bottleneck restricting the upgrading of weapons and equipment. Brave pilots had to fly old fighters purchased from the Soviet Union with heavy faces, and the Navy's capital ships were left to a standstill, allowing time to pass.
Faced with the grim situation, the military industry had no choice but to temporarily shift the production line to civilian products. The dreams of generations of military workers have been ruthlessly put aside, helpless but at the same time deeply understanding the country's situation in difficult times.
As Zhang Zhaozhong said back then: "There is indeed a gap between China and the United States in some areas, and this gap is huge and significant. However, despite this, everyone has no complaints, and everyone is silently holding on, looking forward to the dawn of the motherland shining on the earth again.
Until the outbreak of the magnificent Gulf War in the early 90s, this confrontation shook the world and undoubtedly brought profound reflection to the Chinese people. With the emergence of sophisticated equipment such as cruise missiles and stealth fighters in the arena of warfare, the leaders of the mainland deeply feel that the lag in our army's equipment has become a bottleneck restricting the enhancement of combat effectiveness, so they have decided to intensify their efforts to speed up the process of modernizing the armed forces.
At this critical moment, Zhang Zhaozhong, a well-known military commentator, openly staged a "misleading" farce in the field of public opinion at home and abroad. He has done everything in his power to exaggerate the huge gap between the military power of China and the United States, and even threatened that it would take decades to catch up with the United States.
However, on an important occasion many years later, when Zhang Zhaozhong suddenly burst into tears on the spot, the truth finally surfaced. It turned out that the reason why Zhang Zhaozhong made such remarks was not out of malice, but to gain precious time so that our army could receive full support at the critical stage of making up for historical debts.
Looking back on those arduous years now, we should all the more cherish and highly appreciate the outstanding achievements made by the Chinese armed forces. Today, whether it is the J-20 or the J-31, these new-generation fighters, their excellent performance has amazed them at home and abroad; the Dongfeng-17 missile has the title of "global rocket artillery" with the longest range; and the navy's latest cutting-edge 0.55 million ton destroyer, its huge body is the envy of all countries in the world.
All these brilliant achievements come from those military workers who forged ahead in the predicament. In various difficult environments, they still stick to their research and development careers, and forge today's glory with blood and tears.
Some nuclear plants have been forced to switch to ice cream and stainless steel tubs, but they have never given up on research on new types of weapons, and some units are under pressure to lay off employees, but the remaining employees are more determined to move forward.
At the same time, the leaders responsible for the modernization of national defense are also planning at the strategic level. They resolutely chose the path of economic development, thus greatly enhancing China's comprehensive national strength and laying a solid material foundation for its subsequent military rise.
Looking to the future, with China's increasingly strong comprehensive national strength and strong economic strength, we are close to realizing the dream of great rejuvenation. The unremitting efforts and hard work of several generations will surely burst out with unprecedented strength in the new historical period.
It was precisely at that crucial moment more than 30 years ago of reform and opening up that we made a wise and far-reaching choice and led the Chinese nation on the magnificent journey of great rejuvenation! The strategic decision made at that time enabled China's economy to take off like a rebirth, and won a precious and precious window of time for national defense modernization.
Today, China's armed forces have been reborn from the ashes, showing renewed vitality and passion.
Zhang Zhaozhong: In fact, we may all have been misled!" These few words, like a sharp knife, reveal the predicament faced by the Chinese armed forces in the 80s and 90s of the last century, and at the same time highly summarize the brilliant achievements made today.
As a former military commentator, Mr. Zhang Zhaozhong has misled the public opinion environment at home and abroad, intentionally or unintentionally, for many years due to some special reasons. The real intention behind his efforts to exaggerate the disparity between the military power of China and the United States is to provide a strong cover for the Chinese military at a critical stage in making up for its historical debts.
However, it was not until an important occasion many years later, when Mr. Zhang Zhaozhong could no longer hide the excitement in his heart and tears burst out of his eyes, that this hidden secret behind the scenes was revealed.
It turns out that it is precisely thanks to the wise policy decision of reform and opening up that the mainland has advanced on the two fronts of economic construction and national defense modernization in parallel, and has finally achieved tremendous achievements that amaze the world today.