The command center is replete with rows of work stations, lots flat screen displays and plenty of red phones, not to mention a special throne-like desk for Xi Jinping. A huge map display system in located in the center of the room. It is unclear exactly what the capability of this map is or how it is really meant to be viewed. Logically it would be a situational map of the region, where the locations of units, ships and vessels could be displayed and particular areas could be zoomed in upon, but then again it could just be a big ass map in an awkward position. The whole place has something of a "set piece" or staged feel to it, similar to Russia's largest command center that was built around the same time.

During Xi Jinping's recent visit to the facility, he stressed readiness and improving the military's combat capability as well as the ability for the CMC to fight and win wars—pretty boilerplate stuff—but he also teleconferenced with deployed units, including troops stationed at China's new base in Djibouti which itself is more than meets the eye. The Horn of Africa outpost largely represents China's future military ambitions, which have morphed from regional to global in scale.