Skip to main content
Home U.S.- CHINA | ECONOMIC and SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION

U.S.-China Economic AND Security Review Commission

  • About Us
    hearings navigation
    About the Commission

    The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission is a legislative branch commission created by the United States Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor, investigate, and submit to Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and to provide recommendations, where appropriate, to Congress for legislative and administrative action.

    About the Commission
    • Charter
    • Commission Members
    • Commission Staff
    • Job Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Annual Reports
  • Recommendations
  • Hearings
  • Research
    research navigation menu drop down
    Research

    The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission is chartered to monitor, investigate, and report to Congress on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. The Commission meets its research mission by submitting to Congress an Annual Report, as well as by conducting staff-led reports, contracted research, and more.

    View All Research
    • RESEARCH BY TOPIC
      Censorship and Control RESEARCH BY TOPIC
    • China’s Economy and Resources
    • Compliance with International Rules and Norms
    • Finance and Investment
    • Global Relations and Influence
    • Hong Kong
    • Product Safety
    • Science and Technology
    • Security and Defense
    • Taiwan
    • Trade and Supply Chains
    • FEATURED RESEARCH
      Chinese Companies Listed on Major U.S. Stock Exchanges FEATURED RESEARCH
    • PRC in International Organizations
    • China-Ukraine Timeline

Search

Personnel of the People’s Liberation Army

11/03/2022
Body

This report, prepared for the Commission by BluePath Labs, examines the people behind the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the force’s ongoing efforts to address the Chinese leadership’s longstanding concerns about the competence of its personnel. Topics surveyed include the challenges the PLA faces in improving personnel quality; the force’s recruitment and retention efforts; the expertise, educational, and socioeconomic backgrounds of PLA personnel; the force’s use of both conscription and voluntary recruitment; morale; combat readiness; and the role of politics in the PLA.

Key Findings:

  • Xi Jinping has had continued doubts about personnel competence and loyalty since becoming the Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2012, and thus has focused on both force modernization and Party loyalty. Despite this emphasis, many commanders are still judged as incapable of properly assessing situations, making operational decisions, deploying forces, or leading forces in a modern, joint, informationized war.
  • The PLA remains concerned about improving political officers’ operational knowledge, seeking to make political officers an asset rather than a liability in the command tent. Political officers and Party Committees within the PLA are emphasized as the key conduit for ensuring Party control and often play a key role in unit affairs, including in personnel issues and day-to-day training and operations. They often struggle to play a productive role in the latter, however. 
  • The PLA has emphasized recruitment of college-educated and more technically proficient personnel at all levels since 2009. It has succeeded in recruiting more educated personnel, though it continues to face serious challenges with retention and proper utilization of talent.
  • The PLA has also worked to improve the professionalism of its non-commissioned officer (NCO) corps through a range of new initiatives, with the goal of increasing NCO responsibilities and allowing NCOs to take over billets previously held by junior officers. 
  • Significant changes have been made to improve training and standardize bases and academic institutions, while basic training times have nearly doubled. Most significantly, in 2020 the PLA shifted from a single conscription cycle per year to two cycles per year, with the aim of eliminating uneven levels of unit combat-readiness at certain times of the year. 
  • While progress has been uneven, the sum of these initiatives is likely to produce a PLA that is more educated, professionalized, and technically proficient in the coming years.
Tags
Security and Defense
Personnel of the People's Liberation Army1.81 MB

Subscribe To Our Mailing List

CAPTCHA

Related Content

12/16/2024 • Research

China's Remote Sensing

This report below, prepared for the Commission by OTH Intelligence Group LLC, details…

Read More
01/24/2022 • Research

The China-North Korea Strategic Rift: Background and…

This report surveys the history behind the China-North Korea relationship and examines the…

Read More
06/28/2021 • Research

China-Iran Relations: A Limited but Enduring Strategic…

The report examines China’s deepening ties with Iran and the geopolitical constraints on the… Read More
04/01/2021 • Research

Timeline of Executive Actions on China (2017–2021)

This document covers executive actions taken by the Administration of President Donald Trump…

Read More

U.S.-CHINA

U.S.-China Economic and
Security Review Commission

444 North Capitol Street NW, Suite 602
Washington, DC 20001

202-624-1407linkedintwitter

Footer menu

  • Contact Us
  • All Announcements
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility