BEIJING - The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is resolutely opposed to nationalizing the military, a senior PLA officer has said, urging the PLA to unswervingly uphold the principle of the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) over the military.

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The officer said that "domestic and foreign hostile forces" have a purpose in criticizing the principle with calls for "nationalization of the military" and "non-affiliation between the military and the CPC and depoliticizing the military."

The criticism is fundamentally an attempt to divorce the PLA from the CPC's leadership so as to overthrow the CPC's ruling position and subvert the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, said General Li Jinai, a member of the Central Military Commission.

"We must resolutely reject these false political ideas and unswervingly listen to and follow the Party," said Li, who is also the director of the PLA General Political Department, in an opinion piece on the front page of Monday's PLA Daily.

He said that the absolute leadership of the CPC over the military is the soul of the army as well as an important political advantage of the party and the state. It's relevant to the enhancement of the CPC's ruling position and improves its governing, as "the military is the cornerstone of the regime, and the ruling party must have a firm grip on the military," Li said.

Moreover, Li said that the CPC's absolute leadership over the military is important to China's long-term stability and security, as the military shoulders the responsibility to secure peace for the development of the country during an important period of strategic opportunities.

He noted that China's basic military system, the CPC's absolute leadership over the military, serves the fundamental interest of the overwhelming majority of the people, which distinguishes itself from some Western countries' military that safeguard the interests of the bourgeoisie.

Li added that China will not copy the military systems of some Western countries, in which political parties exercise indirect control over the armed forces, because these systems are products of the historical and political conditions in these countries.

In a similar way, China's military system is determined by the country's specific conditions and the CPC's progressiveness, according to Li.

One major aspect of upholding the Party's absolute leadership over the military is to adhere to a set of basic systems that can guarantee the leadership.

For example, the supreme authority and command over the PLA must belong to the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, according to Li.

"On the fundamental political principle of the upholding the Party's absolute leadership over the military, we must be especially clear in mind, outright in attitude, and resolute in action," he said.

The CPC established its own military, the PLA's predecessor, in 1928, seven years after its own founding.