China revises its military recruitment policy

China has revised its rules for the recruitment of soldiers in wartime, with an amended regulation coming into effect on May 1.

The revised rules released by the State Council and the Central Military Commission led by President Xi Jinping aim “to provide institutional guarantees for consolidating national defense and building a strong armed forces,” according to the China Military news website.

The revised regulation, which has 74 articles in 11 chapters, focuses on recruiting more “high-caliber soldiers, standardizing and optimizing conscription procedures, and improving the system's efficiency.”

According to the South China Morning Post daily, under the revised rules, recruitment of veterans is listed as a “priority.”

“Recruitment should focus on preparing for war and increase efficiency by calling up high caliber recruits,” the new regulations say.

The amendments to recruitment were passed earlier this month by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

During an inspection of the navy of the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Guangdong province, Xi said "the armed forces should analyze and address military issues from a political perspective, carry out military struggles in a resolute and flexible manner, and enhance the ability to ensure timely and proper responses to complex situations.

He ordered the Chinese armed forces to "strengthen training under combat conditions, innovate the concepts of combat and the methods of combat and training, and intensify force-on-force training based on operational plans."

It also marks the first time that China has introduced a chapter on wartime recruitment which states that “ex-servicemen would be prioritized and expected to join their original units or similar positions.”

“Citizens who receive a recruitment notice during wartime must go to the designated place on time to enlist or face punishment, according to the regulations, which were last amended in 2001,” the report said.

In February this year, Chinese lawmakers empowered the military “to change how the Criminal Procedure Law is applied during wartime to safeguard military missions and improve (the PLA's) ability to win in combat.”