It has been a feature of the Chinese government's annual state-of-the-nation address to the country's legislature since 2014.
But this year when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered his government work report and development plan to the National People's Congress, there was no mention of the core Chinese military modernisation policy that has alarmed Washington.
The military-civil fusion (MCF) policy is a national strategy to enlist the private sector to help modernise the country's defences and develop cutting-edge technologies – areas that used to be the exclusive domain of state-owned military-industrial players.
The programme has attracted scrutiny from the United States over concerns that American technology could be siphoned through trade and academic exchanges to bolster Chinese military's modernisation.
Analysts said that while the strategy may be out of sight at China's legislative sessions this year, it is not off the radar – and Beijing may even be doubling down on it in a stealthier way.
According to Professor Tai Ming Cheung, from the UC San Diego school of global policy and strategy, "military-civil fusion remains a top priority for the Xi regime, and perhaps even more so as China finds itself in an increasingly fierce and coupled techno-security competition with the US and its allies".
"Military-civil fusion is a central component in [Chinese President] Xi Jinping's grand vision and strategy of China's long-term geostrategic and geo-economic development, and especially his goals of becoming a leading global power by the mid-2030s," Cheung said.
The strategy, likened by some to the US' Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency model, was elevated to state policy in 2015 when it was written in the country's 13th five-year plan for 2016-2020. Two years later, Xi took personal charge of the MCF drive by establishing and heading the Central Commission for Integrated Military and Civilian Development.
A 2018 report by the PLA Daily, the military's mouthpiece, said Xi talked about the fusion strategy's importance "every year" when he attended PLA delegation meetings during the annual parliamentary sessions.
But state media did not mention if Xi had talked about the strategy to People's Liberation Army delegates in this year's sessions held late last month. It quoted Xi as saying only that the military should persistently sharpen their combat strength through technological innovation and strengthen Chinese-developed innovations in defence technologies.
There has also been no state media report about any meeting of the MCF commission since Xi chaired its second meeting in October 2018.
The silence has not eased concerns in Washington. Last week, US President Donald Trump suspended the visas of an estimated 3,000 Chinese students and researchers deemed likely to support an entity involved in the military-civil fusion strategy.
And in April, the US Department of Commerce announced a tightening of its export controls. From the end of this month, American companies selling sensitive products will have to apply for export licences if their Chinese customers have any business in support of or contribute to Chinese military.
The range of sensitive products was also expanded to include nearly all semiconductors and their manufacturing equipment, as well as aircraft parts. The department said the restrictions were "in view of China's widespread civil-military integration".
The programme has attracted scrutiny from the United States over concerns that American technology could be siphoned through trade and academic exchanges to bolster Chinese military's modernisation.
Analysts said that while the strategy may be out of sight at China's legislative sessions this year, it is not off the radar – and Beijing may even be doubling down on it in a stealthier way.
According to Professor Tai Ming Cheung, from the UC San Diego school of global policy and strategy, "military-civil fusion remains a top priority for the Xi regime, and perhaps even more so as China finds itself in an increasingly fierce and coupled techno-security competition with the US and its allies".
"Military-civil fusion is a central component in [Chinese President] Xi Jinping's grand vision and strategy of China's long-term geostrategic and geo-economic development, and especially his goals of becoming a leading global power by the mid-2030s," Cheung said.
The strategy, likened by some to the US' Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency model, was elevated to state policy in 2015 when it was written in the country's 13th five-year plan for 2016-2020. Two years later, Xi took personal charge of the MCF drive by establishing and heading the Central Commission for Integrated Military and Civilian Development.
A 2018 report by the PLA Daily, the military's mouthpiece, said Xi talked about the fusion strategy's importance "every year" when he attended PLA delegation meetings during the annual parliamentary sessions.
But state media did not mention if Xi had talked about the strategy to People's Liberation Army delegates in this year's sessions held late last month. It quoted Xi as saying only that the military should persistently sharpen their combat strength through technological innovation and strengthen Chinese-developed innovations in defence technologies.
There has also been no state media report about any meeting of the MCF commission since Xi chaired its second meeting in October 2018.
The silence has not eased concerns in Washington. Last week, US President Donald Trump suspended the visas of an estimated 3,000 Chinese students and researchers deemed likely to support an entity involved in the military-civil fusion strategy.
And in April, the US Department of Commerce announced a tightening of its export controls. From the end of this month, American companies selling sensitive products will have to apply for export licences if their Chinese customers have any business in support of or contribute to Chinese military.
The range of sensitive products was also expanded to include nearly all semiconductors and their manufacturing equipment, as well as aircraft parts. The department said the restrictions were "in view of China's widespread civil-military integration".