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China's National Defense in 2008

III. Reform and Development of the PLA

Stepping up Personnel Training

The PLA is further implementing the strategic project for talented people, improving its training system and laying stress on the training of commanding officers for joint operations and high-level technical experts in an effort to cultivate a large contingent of new-type and high-caliber military personnel.

In April 2008, the CMC issued Opinions on Strengthening and Improving the Officers Training Work of the Armed Forces, explicitly requiring the establishment and improvement of the service-long and all-personnel training system, which takes level-by-level training as the backbone and on-the-job training as the supplement, and matches training with assignment. A situation is to be created in which institutional education is linked with training in units, education in military educational institutions is carried on in parallel with education through regular institutions of higher learning, and domestic training is combined with overseas training.

Strengthening the training of commanding officers for joint operations. Various measures are being taken to step up efforts to train commanding officers for joint operations, such as institutional education, on-the-job study and rotation of posts. Incorporating joint operations into the whole training process, the PLA carefully distinguishes between the training tasks of educational institutions of different levels and types, and couples institutional education with training in units, so as to establish a system for training joint operations commanding officers which emphasizes both institutional education and practice in units. The PLA has launched the Key Projects of Military Educational Institutions and made step-by-step progress in these projects.

Selecting and training officer candidates. In October 2007 the CMC approved and the four general headquarters/departments jointly promulgated the Regulations of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on the Admission Work of Educational Institutions, regulating the admission of high-school graduates and enlisted men into military educational institutions. At the end of 2007 the Ministry of Education and the General Political Department of the PLA co-sponsored a conference on the issue of training PLA officers via regular institutions of higher learning. At present, there are 117 colleges and universities with defense students. The PLA has selected nearly 1,000 key middle schools in the various provinces and municipalities as the main sources of defense students.

Creating a favorable environment for cultivating talented people. The PLA has established and improved a mechanism for rewarding and inspiring talented people, issuing high rewards to outstanding commanding officers, staff officers and technical experts, as well as teams which have made great contributions in scientific and technological innovation. Since 2007 additional funds amounting to RMB 700 million have been devoted to talent cultivation. In July 2007 the CMC promulgated the Provisions of the Armed Forces on Attracting and Retaining High-level Specialized Technical Personnel, specifying effective measures to attract and retain particularly leading scientists, first-rate personnel in specific disciplines and technical experts. In March 2008 the Guideline of the Chinese People's Liberation Army for the Evaluation of Commanding Officers, the Implementation Measures of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on the Evaluation of Commanding Officers and the Standards of the Chinese People's Liberation Army for the Evaluation of Commanding Officers (Trial) were published, which marked the initial establishment of a system for the evaluation of commanding officers in accordance with the requirements of scientific development.