News Analysis China’s military will “break new ground” in the development of new weapons and other equipment, said Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a recent conference, according to Chinese state-run media. “Leapfrog development” in military equipment and weapons has critically enhanced China’s strategic capabilities, Xi said, in a nod to the nation’s strategy of prioritizing critical and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Over the years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has increased efforts to leapfrog the United States, effectively seeking to bypass traditional strategies of development by jumping ahead to newer technologies that would make them irrelevant. A notable example of this strategy in practice is the reported test of a Chinese hypersonic weapon in July, which could effectively allow the Chinese military to focus on developing next-generation weapons technologies without having to invest in advancing their older, more traditional missile systems. An “all-out push” to accelerate military modernization …