China's 14th Five-Year Plan for the first time aims to possess a "fully modernized army" in the next seven years.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on October 29 closes its four-day secret session in Beijing to discuss the 14th five-year plan on national social and economic development and long-term goals.

According to a statement published in state media after the meeting, China first introduced defense into its five-year plan, with a goal of turning its military into a fully modern force by 2027, when

"This can be understood as an effort to turn the PLA into the world's leading modern combat force, on par with the US military," said military analyst Tong Trung in Hong Kong.

Junfei Wu, deputy director of the Tianda Institute in Hong Kong, said Beijing's leadership set this ambitious goal of sending a message to Taiwan.

"Essentially, the goal of this plan is to build the PLA's operational capabilities on par with the US military by 2027, allowing Beijing to effectively deterr and block Washington's involvement around the Taiwan Strait.

The statement also said that China aims to become a "moderately developed economy" by 2035 and has set a GDP per capita growth target 15 years earlier.

The Chinese Communist Party Central Committee meeting comes as Beijing is facing a lot of international pressure, including a protracted trade war with Washington and growing overseas pressure with Chinese corporations.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping seems to want Washington to realize that when a conflict erupts in the Taiwan Strait, they will arrive at the scene too late, unable to fulfill the goal of providing military assistance to the island."