Based on the division of topics among the China Regional Study group, the questions in this paper focus on the Chinese military and will be asked to military personnel during the military portions of the visit to China. The Chinese military is trying to transform itself from a land-based power, centered on a vast ground force, to a smaller, mobile, high-tech military capable of mounting offensive and defensive operations beyond its coastal borders. China began a massive reduction of 500,000 military personnel in 1997 over a two-year period that included a reduction of the Army by 18.6%; the Navy, 11.4%; the Air Force, 12.6%; and the Strategic Missile Force, 2.9%.2 (Note that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes Ground Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air Force, Second Artillery Corps (Strategic Missile Force), and the People's Armed Police (internal security troops)).
Chinese Military: Attempting to Change
2002
11 pages
Report
No indication
English