The PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), called upon the army to follow the guideline put forward by President Hu Jintao in an editorial written for the 84th anniversary of the founding of the PLA that fell on Monday.

Hu, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, said in his speech regarding the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that "the scientific development of national defense and the army should be the general guideline to follow, and priority should be given to accelerating change in the way of raising troops' combat effectiveness."

The PLA Daily editorial called upon PLA officers and soldiers to practice this "major strategic thinking," and to promote the development of national defense and the army under its guidance.

The editorial elaborated that the key to the PLA's growth from weak to strong, and its journey from one victory to another, is that it revered the Party's leadership, and thus maintains great cohesion and battling capacity.

Further, the paper called upon PLA officers and soldiers to enhance risk awareness and to be mindful of their mission, as the international military competition becomes increasingly fierce, and modern wars are fast evolving from mechanical wars to information-based ones.

Additionally, the commentary laid out tasks for the PLA.

It's important to adhere to the fundamental principle of the Party exercising absolute leadership over the army, and to boost Party building within the army.

It is important to expand and intensify military preparedness and to conduct military exercises with IT applications and raise independent defense- and weaponry-related R&D capabilities.

"We should speed up all-around development of modern logistics and the training of a new type of high-caliber military personnel, and promote reform of national defense and the army in an active yet prudent manner," said the editorial.

The army must be run strictly and in accordance with the law. It's imperative to strengthen and develop unity between the army and the people, according to the editorial.