The army must take Mao Zedong's military thinking and Deng Xiaoping's thinking on army building in the new period as the guide to action and fully implement the important thought of Three Represents, he said in a report to the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

It must persist in taking the road of fewer but better troops with Chinese characteristics and become more revolutionary, modernized and regularized in compliance with the general requirements of being qualified politically and competent militarily and having a fine style of work, strict discipline and adequate logistic support, he said.

"There must be no wavering in upholding the fundamental principle and system that the Party leads the people's army," Jiang said.

The army must implement the military strategic principle of active defense and raise its defense capabilities and combat effectiveness under high-tech conditions, he said, adding that in response to the trend of military changes in the world, it must carry out the strategy of building a strong army through science and technology.

Efforts should be made to accomplish the historical tasks of mechanization and IT application, thereby bringing about leapfrog development in the modernization of the army, Jiang said.

Party organizations and governments at all levels and the people should be concerned with and support the building of national defense and the army, and the army should support and take an active part in national construction, Jiang said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2002)