Shall soldiers grow cotton to produce their own wool for their uniforms? Sounds crazy, but it’s not. Most recently, the Trump Administration accused universities, like Harvard, of having close ties to Chinese organizations which contradict to U.S. interests. Let’s have a closer look to one of these, where Harvard University is presumable involved in. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) presumably organized events collaboratively, while this organization faced sanctions both under the Trump and the Biden administration. But the XPCC is also interesting under a different perspective. It represents a unique and increasingly influential organizational model that blends military, economic, and social functions into a cohesive, self-sustaining entity. Unlike many Western military forces, which tend to outsource large swaths of logistical, industrial, and administrative duties to civilian contractors in pursuit of focusing narrowly on core combat capabilities, the XPCC embodies an integrated approach. This approach ensures that the armed forces sustain themselves over the entire life cycle—combining governance, economic productivity, and paramilitary readiness within one structure.
Can the West learn from the XPCC’s inclusive model?
The XPCC is critically important as China navigates complex security, social, and economic challenges, particularly in the sensitive Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). This semi-autonomous organization functions not only as a paramilitary force but also manages agriculture, industry, infrastructure, and administrative affairs, serving as a “state within a state” that stabilizes and develops this strategic frontier zone.
At a time when many Western militaries have moved toward externalizing support tasks—such as logistics, construction, and even cyber operations—to private companies to streamline operations and focus on combat readiness, the XPCC’s self-contained style reflects a contrasting philosophy of holistic control. This inclusive style sustains the population, economy, and security apparatus all under one roof, creating organizational resilience and tight integration between civil and military domains.
Integrated Organizational Structure
Founded in 1954, the XPCC was designed to cultivate and govern Xinjiang’s vast and resource-rich frontier while providing security through its paramilitary functions. Its structure incorporates divisions akin to sub-prefectural administrations that govern towns and agricultural settlements, manage police and judicial systems, and oversee education and healthcare. This broad governance capacity enables the XPCC to comprehensively address economic development, social stability, and defense in a unified manner.
Politically, the XPCC is firmly under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), blending military command with civilian administration. The corps maintains paramilitary units that serve as reserve forces for the People’s Liberation Army, yet these forces also directly administer local policing and security, making security a continuously present function across its territories.
Economic and Social Self-Sufficiency
Unlike Western armed forces, which outsource significant support functions—including food provision, construction, supply chains, and healthcare—the XPCC integrates these tasks internally. It controls vast agricultural lands, producing key crops like cotton that are vital for both regional economy and national interests. Above, you can see a picture of a website reporting on the cotton harvest of XPCC. Beyond farming, it engages in varied industries such as trade, real estate, construction, and insurance, bolstered by a network of enterprises that support its self-reliance.
This inclusive model supports the entire life cycle of personnel and military readiness, from recruitment through ongoing social welfare to economic productivity, fostering a community where military and civilian spheres are deeply intertwined. The XPCC’s ability to produce its own material and sustain its population contrasts sharply with the segmented and contractor-dependent Western approach.
A Counter-Strategy to Western Outsourcing
The Western trend toward outsourcing military and support roles aims to concentrate forces on front-line combat, leveraging specialized private contractors for logistics, intelligence, and other support services. While this can yield agility and cost savings in peacetime, it risks creating vulnerabilities in extended conflicts or complex security environments where the supply chain or contractors may be disrupted.
The XPCC’s organizational philosophy counters this by rejecting outsourcing. Instead, it consolidates all vital functions under one institutional framework, ensuring continuity and rapid adaptability. This enables the corps to maintain strong command cohesion and operational security, while simultaneously fostering economic development and population stability in the region it controls.
XPCC’s role model now taken over by Russia
The XPCC’s expansive role extends beyond Xinjiang. Recent reports indicate growing cooperation with Russia’s defense industrial base, suggesting that the XPCC’s integrated paramilitary-economic model may serve as a template for resilient, multifunctional forces well-suited to prolonged strategic competition and hybrid conflict environments.
Well, the West might not take over its goals – for sure. But the XPCC’s economic life-cycle model may be of interest, indeed. Effectiveness is maybe given with outsourcing to experts and specialized companies. But when these experts and companies are having the military as the main and maybe sole customer anyhow – it would make sense including it into the military structure. The military echosystem works smoother when it reduces its own ambient noise and friction losses.
