The People's Liberation Army (PLA): An Executive Education Course for Analysts and Practitioners (March 2025)

Application for the March 11-13 course is now closed.

The National Bureau of Asian Research is offering the thirteenth iteration of its three-day executive education course on China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on March 11–13, 2025, in Washington, D.C. As part of China’s efforts to build a “world-class military” by 2049, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has undergone rapid modernization under General Secretary Xi Jinping. The PLA now rivals or surpasses the U.S. military in key areas, including land-based conventional ballistic and cruise missile capabilities, the military application of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and a naval fleet larger than that of the U.S. Navy. Moreover, since 2015, Beijing has undertaken significant operational and structural reforms of the PLA with the explicit objective of building a modern, integrated joint force capable of a complex range of operations.

Chad Sbragia
Course Senior Mentor

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China

Participants in this course will join a series of interactive seminar-style classes and lunch discussions, as well as a simulation exercise, as part of a curriculum shaped by world-class PLA specialists on one of the world’s most formidable militaries. Session topics range from China’s Military-Civil Fusion Strategy and party-military relations to strategic doctrine, operational concepts, organizational reform, and service-based analyses. Chad Sbragia, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, will serve as the course’s senior mentor, providing key context and takeaways to participants throughout the course.

The course’s varied curriculum, interactive format, and condensed schedule are tailored to meet the needs of military and civilian practitioners, industry leaders, and research professionals working on China-related security issues, allowing participants to develop a unique skillset to apply to everyday work in government and industry alike.

Tuition

$3,500
Includes breakfast and lunch for each day of the course, as well as readings and other materials.