China mobilizes city of 15 million people in defense exercise

The resilience of civilian populations, as well as of industry and the economy, in the event of a major conflict, is at the heart of a country's ability to sustain an intensive military effort over time. This subject has long been forgotten by a majority of Western states, as well as their citizens, often little concerned about the collective effort required to face a critical situation. In Europe, only Sweden has, in recent years, put in place the premises of a comprehensive resilience strategy, but this is an exception.

For Beijing, on the other hand, the link between the nation and its army, the founding principle of the People's Liberation Army, still remains at the heart of Chinese strategy today. And the exercise conducted this weekend in the city of Chongqing, in the southwest of the country, is a perfect illustration of this. Indeed, the military and civil authorities simulated, during a weekend, the transformation of the most important agglomeration of the country to support a massive and long war effort. This exercise, limited in duration, focused in particular on two aspects.

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