CONSCRIPTION CYCLE
In 2020, the PRC announced its plan to modify its single annual military conscription cycle to a two-phase system. Under the new system, conscription is held in both the spring and autumn instead of just once in the autumn, to account for the academic school year and allow for more efficient enlistment. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the implementation of the biannual conscription cycle, which was delayed to early 2021. The change did not represent an increase in the total number of recruits, but rather a staggering of the overall intake process. The new system is intended to give military units greater flexibility by reducing the total number affected by turnover at a given time.
2023 REFORMS
Beijing has moved to update its national conscription law by enacting revisions in May 2023. The new law reflects this updated system and recent developments in the PLA, particularly advances in information technology and population shifts. It calls for establishing an “inter-ministerial joint conference system for conscription work” intended to improve efficiency by formalizing the system already in operation through the CMC’s National Defense Mobilization Department and Ministry of National Defense Recruitment/Conscription Office. After national-level inter-agency coordination, conscription quotas for every province are sent down the military chain of command and to the local governments for execution.
The law also provides further incentives for recently demobilized personnel to volunteer for a “second enlistment.” Second enlistments refer to enlisted personnel who were not promoted to a higher rank, but later decided to return to service. The law specifies that personnel who enlist for a second time and meet the qualifications to be a NCO may be “directly recruited as sergeants” (a general term for NCOs at the rank of corporal or higher). Another option for demobilized personnel is to enter the expanding ranks of non-active-duty contract civilians, some of whom are assigned to the system of local headquarters responsible for conscription.
In pursuit of Xi’s vision of achieving a “world-class” military by 2049, the PLA is focusing on the personnel reform of its NCOs, which are expected to be the PLA’s “backbone” in future wars. Recognizing that small military units have played an increasingly important role in regional wars, the PLA is seeking to strengthen NCOs’ strategic and leadership capabilities, as well as improve their professional skills through academic and technical training. In March 2022, PLA implemented new regulations aimed at increasing “combat effectiveness,” such as allowing intermediate and senior sergeants to stay in service longer to have more professional NCOs in the military. The regulations aimed at enhancing professionalism and stability among NCOs, while allowing conscripts to play a more fundamental role in the development of the PRC’s military talent. They also intended to improve the management of PLA personnel by progressing the recruitment, training, rank promotion, benefits and demobilization system for NCOs and conscripts, and to play a key role in building a high-quality military.
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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China
