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The new rules China hopes will build more professional soldiers
- New regulations governing the management of non-commissioned officers and conscripts came into effect in late March
- As well as employing better talent-spotting, China’s military will alter its methods of promotion, motivation, rewards and retirement resettlement for soldiers
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China’s military is overhauling its promotion, recruitment and training of soldiers to develop a more professional armed forces to tackle combat in an increasingly complex international environment.
The overhaul includes regulations on non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and conscripts that came into effect in late March, with a senior military officer saying combat effectiveness was now “the only and fundamental criterion”.
According to state news agency Xinhua, the new regulations are meant to improve professionalism and reduce turnover among NCOs.
The rules aim to do this through better a recruitment, training, rank promotion, benefits and demobilisation system for NCOs and conscripts, steps authorities see as vital for raising standards in the armed forces.
In 2018, Chinese President and Central Military Commission chairman Xi Jinping called NCOs “the backbone” of the army, saying “the stability of this team is very important”.
However, the NCO force has struggled with turnover and a lack of professional motivation and skills, according to an article published on social media by China’s defence ministry on April 25.
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