Recruitment and terms of service

The PLA began as an all-volunteer force. In 1955, as part of an effort to modernize the PLA, the first Military Service Law created a system of compulsory military service.^[4] Since the late 1970s, the PLA has been a hybrid force that combines conscripts and volunteers.^[4]^[188]^[189] Conscripts who fulfilled their service obligation can stay in the military as volunteer soldiers for a total of 16 years.^[4]^[189] De jure, military service with the PLA is obligatory for all Chinese citizens. However, mandatory military service has not been enacted in China since 1949.^[190]^[191]

Women and ethnic minorities

Women participated extensively in unconventional warfare, including in combat positions, in the Chinese Red Army during the revolutionary period, Chinese Civil War (1927–1949) and the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).^[192]^[193] After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, along with the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s transition toward the conventional military organization, the role of women in the armed forces gradually reduced to support, medical, and logistics roles.^[192] It was considered a prestigious choice for women to join the military. Serving in the military opens up opportunities for education, training, higher status, and relocation to cities after completing the service. During the Cultural Revolution, military service was regarded as a privilege and a method to avoid political campaign and coresion.^[192]

In the 1980s, the PLA underwent large-scale demobilization amid the Chinese economic reform, and women were discharged back to civilian society for economic development while the exclusion of women in the military expanded.^[192] In the 1990s, the PLA revived the recruitment of female personnel in regular military formations but primarily focused on non-combat roles at specialized positions.^[192] Most women were trained in areas such as academic/engineering, medics, communications, intelligence, cultural work, and administrative work, as these positions conform to the traditional gender roles. Women in the PLA were more likely to be cadets and officers instead of enlisted soldiers because of their specializations.^[192] The military organization still preserved some female combat units as public exemplars of social equality.^[192]^[193]

Both enlisted and cadet women personnel underwent the same basic training as their male counterparts in the PLA, but many of them serve in predominantly female organizations. Due to ideological reasons, the regulation governing the segregation of sex in the PLA is prohibited, but a quasi-segregated arrangement for women's organizations is still applied through considerations of convenience.^[192] Women were likelier to hold commanding positions in female-heavy organizations such as medical, logistic, research, and political work units, but sometimes in combat units during peacetime.^[192] In PLAAF, women traditionally pilot transport aircraft or serve as crew members.^[194] There had been a small number of high-ranking female officials in the PLA since 1949, but the advancement of position had remained relatively uncommon.^[192]^[193] In the 2010s, women were increasingly serving in combat roles, in mixed-gender organizations alongside their male counterparts, and to the same physical standard.^[193]

The military actively promotes opportunities for women in the military, such as celebrating International Women's Day for the members of the armed forces, publicizing the number of firsts for female officers and enlisted personnel, including deployments with peacekeeping forces or serving on PLA Navy's first aircraft carrier, announcing female military achievements in state media, and promoting female special forces through news reports or popular media.^[193] PLA does not publish detailed gender composition of its armed forces, but the Jamestown Foundation estimated approximately 5% of the active military force in China is female.^[195]

National unity and territorial integrity are central themes of the Chinese Communist Revolution. The Chinese Red Army and the succeeding PLA actively recruited ethnic minorities. During the Chinese Civil War, Mongol cavalry units were formed. During the Korean War, as many as 50,000 ethnic Koreans in China volunteered to join the PLA. PLA's recruitment of minorities generally correlates to state policies. During the early years, minorities were given preferential treatment, with special attention given to recruitment and training. In the 1950s, ethnic Mongols accounted for 52% of all officers in Inner Mongolia military region. During the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, armed forces emphasized "socialist culture", assimilation policies, and the construction of common identities between soldiers of different ethnicities.^[196]

For ethnic minority cadets and officials, overall development follows national policies. Typically, minority officers hold officer positions in their home regions. Examples included over 34% of the battalion and regimental cadres in Yi autonomous region militia were of the Yi ethnicity, and 45% of the militia cadres in Tibetan local militia were of Tibetan ethnicity. Ethnical minorities achieved high-ranking positions in the PLA, and the percentage of appointments appears to follow the ratio of the Chinese population composition.^[196] Prominent figures included ethnic Mongol general Ulanhu, who served in high-ranking roles in the Inner Mongolian region and as vice president of China, and ethnic Uyghur Saifuddin Azizi, a Lieutenant General who served in the CCP Central Committee.^[196] There were a few instances of ethnic distrust within the PLA, with one prominent example being the defection of Margub Iskhakov, an ethnic Muslim Tatar PLA general, to the Soviet Union in the 1960s. However, his defection largely contributed to his disillusion with the failed Great Leap Forward policies, instead of his ethnic background.^[197] In modern times, ethnic representation is most visible among junior-ranking officers. Only a few minorities reach the highest-ranking positions.^[197]

Rank structure

Officers

More information Rank group, General / flag officers ...

Rank group				Senior officers				Junior officers
PLA Ground Force^[198] v t e
PLA Ground Force^[198] v t e	上将 Shàngjiāng	中将 Zhōngjiāng	少将 Shàojiāng	大校 Dàxiào	上校 Shàngxiào	中校 Zhōngxiào	少校 Shàoxiào	上尉 Shàngwèi	中尉 Zhōngwèi	少尉 Shàowèi
PLA Navy^[198] v t e
PLA Navy^[198] v t e	海军上将 Hǎijūn shàngjiàng	海军中将 Hǎijūn zhōngjiàng	海军少将 Hǎijūn shàojiàng	海军大校 Hǎijūn dàxiào	海军上校 Hǎijūn shàngxiào	海军中校 Hǎijūn zhōngxiào	海军少校 Hǎijūn shàoxiào	海军上尉 Hǎijūn shàngwèi	海军中尉 Hǎijūn zhōngwèi	海军少尉 Hǎijūn shàowèi
PLA Air Force^[198] v t e
PLA Air Force^[198] v t e	空军上将 Kōngjūn shàngjiàng	空军中将 Kōngjūn zhōngjiàng	空军少将 Kōngjūn shàojiàng	空军大校 Kōngjūn dàxiào	空军上校 Kōngjūn shàngxiào	空军中校 Kōngjūn zhōngxiào	空军少校 Kōngjūn shàoxiào	空军上尉 Kōngjūn shàngwèi	空军中尉 Kōngjūn zhōngwèi	空军少尉 Kōngjūn shàowèi
PLA Rocket Force v t e	General	Lieutenant General	Major General	Colonel Commandant	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain	First Lieutenant	Second Lieutenant	Officer Cadet
PLA Rocket Force v t e	上将 Shàngjiàng	中将 Zhōngjiàng	少将 Shàojiàng	大校 Dàxiào	上校 Shàngxiào	中校 Zhōngxiào	少校 Shàoxiào	上尉 Shàngwèi	中尉 Zhōngwèi	少尉 Shàowèi	学员 Xuéyuán
PLA Strategic Support Force v t e
PLA Strategic Support Force v t e	上将 Shàngjiàng	中将 Zhōngjiàng	少将 Shàojiàng	大校 Dàxiào	上校 Shàngxiào	中校 Zhōngxiào	少校 Shàoxiào	上尉 Shàngwèi	中尉 Zhōngwèi	少尉 Shàowèi

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Other ranks

More information Rank group, Senior NCOs ...

Rank group	Senior NCOs						Junior NCOs		Enlisted
PLA Ground Force^[198] v t e
PLA Ground Force^[198] v t e	一级军士长 Yījí jūnshìzhǎng	二级军士长 Èrjí jūnshìzhǎng	三级军士长 Sānjí jūnshìzhǎng	四级军士长 Sìjí jūnshìzhǎng	上士 Shàngshì	中士 Zhōngshì	下士 Xiàshì		上等兵 Shàngděngbīng	列兵 Lièbīng
PLA Navy^[198] v t e
PLA Navy^[198] v t e	海军一级军士长 Hǎijūn yījí jūnshìzhǎng	海军二级军士长 Hǎijūn èrjí jūnshìzhǎng	海军三级军士长 Hǎijūn sānjí jūnshìzhǎng	海军四级军士长 Hǎijūn sìjí jūnshìzhǎng	海军上士 Hǎijūn shàngshì	海军中士 Hǎijūn zhōngshì	海军下士 Hǎijūn xiàshì		海军上等兵 Hǎijūn shàngděngbīng	海军列兵 Hǎijūn lièbīng
PLA Air Force^[198] v t e
PLA Air Force^[198] v t e	空军一级军士长 Kōngjūn yījí jūnshìzhǎng	空军二级军士长 Kōngjūn èrjí jūnshìzhǎng	空军三级军士长 Kōngjūn sānjí jūnshìzhǎng	空军四级军士长 Kōngjūn sìjí jūnshìzhǎng	空军上士 Kōngjūn shàngshì	空军中士 Kōngjūn zhōngshì	空军下士 Kōngjūn xiàshì		空军上等兵 Kōngjūn shàngděngbīng	空军列兵 Kōngjūn lièbīng
PLA Rocket Force v t e								No equivalent
PLA Rocket Force v t e	Master sergeant class one 一级军士长 yījí jūnshìzhǎng	Master sergeant class two 二级军士长 èrjí jūnshìzhǎng	Master sergeant class three 三级军士长 sānjí jūnshìzhǎng	Master sergeant class four 四级军士长 sìjí jūnshìzhǎng	Sergeant first class 上士 shàngshì	Sergeant 中士 zhōngshì	Corporal 下士 xiàshì	No equivalent	Private first class 上等兵 shàngděngbīng	Private 列兵 lièbīng
PLA Strategic Support Force v t e
PLA Strategic Support Force v t e	一级军士长 Yījí jūnshìzhǎng	二级军士长 Èrjí jūnshìzhǎng	三级军士长 Sānjí jūnshìzhǎng	四级军士长 Sìjí jūnshìzhǎng	上士 Shàngshì	中士 Zhōngshì	下士 Xiàshì		上等兵 Shàngděngbīng	列兵 Lièbīng

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