This text looks at the future orientation of the People's Liberation Army. It covers military leadership, readiness and expenditure, defense doctrine, high-tech warfare acquisitions, the scientific and technological base for defense procurement and China's security concerns in Northeast Asia.

1: Introduction China's Military Faces the Future; I: The New High Command; 2: China's Post-Deng Military Leadership; II: Doctrine, Strategy, and Weapons; 3: The PLA Faces the Twenty-First Century; 4: Chinese Views of Future Warfare; 5: Foreign Arms Acquisition and PLA Modernization; III: The Support Base; 6: Chinese Defense Procurement Spending; 7: Reforming the Dragon's Tail; 8: The Understated Revolution in Chinese Science and Technology; IV: China's Northeast Asian Security Environment; 9: Chinese Military Strategy for the Korean Peninsula; 10: Strategic Relations Between Beijing and Pyongyang; 11: China's Military Strategy Regarding Japan