China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is on a major charm offensive to attract a booming student population as the world’s biggest fighting force targets the skills it needs to modernize.
The 2.3-million-strong PLA saw a budget increase of 12.7 percent to about US$90 billion this year, according to official figures, and Beijing has said the extra funds will be channeled primarily into modernizing ageing technology.
“Modernization involves two main challenges: mechanization and computerization,” said senior Colonel Geng Yansheng (耿雁生) — chief press officer for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense.
Photo: AFP
“It’s about going from a quantitative army to a qualitative one, going from high human density to high technological density,” he said, referring to a process that started in the 1990s.
As the number of graduates in China grows — up from 3.38 million in 2005 to 6.3 million last year, according to Colonel Jiang Jiping, in charge of recruitment — they represent a rich source of talent.
“The army is looking to recruit students in order to adapt to the needs of modernization and take account of the cultural changes among young people,” Jiang told members of the French Association of Defense Journalists.
What they “bring to the modernization of the army is very visible,” he said.
“In the navy [the PLA includes the navy and air force], where there is a lot of new technology, they are capable of picking up technical training quickly,” he added.
Senior Colonel Yan Feng (嚴鋒), commander of the air force’s 24th division based in Tianjin, near Beijing, confirmed he recruited pilots from both military schools and universities.
China has acknowledged weaknesses in the cyberspace sector and rejects recent accusations of espionage made by international organizations and big US defense groups.
“Our use of the Internet remains elementary,” said General Qian Lihua (錢利華), a high-ranking official in charge of foreign affairs at the defense ministry.
All these elements combined have led the army to offer incentives to young graduates in an effort to boost recruitment.
For a two-year enlistment, the PLA will reimburse 24,000 yuan (US$3,600) in student fees incurred by young officers at university over a four-year period.
According to Jiang, “several tens of thousands” enlist every year, “30 to 40 percent” of whom pursue a military career after the two-year period is over.
These obviously sensitive statistics are impossible to confirm. Last year, the PLA’s daily newspaper said the army had 100,000 recruits.
What is clear is that there has been a clear growth trend over the past decade in the number of graduates joining the PLA.
Yuan Jianda (袁建達), who covers defense for the People’s Daily — the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece — said “defense news interests a lot of young people.”
“For them, a job in the army is an exciting one,” he said.
Another factor working in the PLA’s favor is the increasing competition for jobs among graduates.
An international relations expert based in Beijing pointed to the impact of the 2008 financial crisis.
“Young people coming out of university are finding it more and more difficult to find work. This is well known,” he said.
Official figures show that at the end of last year, about 600,000 graduates had yet to find jobs.
Ever fearful of instability, the Chinese government is concerned mass unemployment among young graduates could spark social unrest.
“Under these circumstances, recruitment works well,” the expert said.
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