CMSI China Maritime Reports

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Description

Main Findings

  • The PLAN manages direct recruitment of some non-commissioned officers, officers, and civilian personnel. However, the recruitment, mobilization, and service assignment of conscripts is centrally managed by the PRC government.
  • Each year, the PRC establishes military conscription quotas for provincial-level governments to meet through recruitment. While compulsory conscription can be enforced, the government rarely compels individuals to enter military service due to China’s large population and high rates of volunteerism.
  • In 2021, the PLA shifted to a twice-a-year conscription cycle by distributing the flow of conscripts into and out of the force across two time periods rather than one. This shift to spring and fall recruitment was designed to achieve higher average unit-manning levels year-round.
  • The majority of PLAN manpower requirements are filled through the general military conscription process, and while a conscript’s preferences may be taken into consideration, they are ultimately assigned based on their education, fitness, and military quota.
  • The PLAN conducts direct recruitment of specific professional and technical personnel through military and civilian cadre recruitment programs. The PLAN also has a special program to recruit pilots separate from the general conscription system, managed by the PLAN Recruitment Office.
  • In 2022, China instituted a new program for the targeted training of sergeants (定向培养军士). The program is designed to leverage vocational and technical colleges throughout China to train students to fill technical and professional jobs within the military after graduation.
  • The PLAN has five military academies that recruit high school students, as well as university and graduate students, to train to become commissioned officers. The National University of Defense Technology directly recruits high school graduates for the Navy, whereas the Army Special Operations Academy, responsible for training PLAN Marine Corps officers, admits only candidates who have completed two years at another PLA academy and successfully competed for selection.
  • Like other services, the PLAN also engages in the direct recruitment of officers from among recent college graduates. Applicants apply to fill specific positions and submit supporting materials to be reviewed by the Navy hiring organization.
  • PLA recruitment mechanisms are rapidly transitioning from traditional grassroots outreach to a precision recruitment system, by which recruiting offices prescreen potential conscripts, sergeants, and officers for suitability. These recruiting activities are complemented by an aggressive national defense education program and increasingly sophisticated recruitment propaganda drives.
  • In recent years, the PLA as a whole has greatly increased the proportion of new recruits with a college degree. The CMC, State Council, and provincial governments have rolled out a range of policy mechanisms to attract high-quality recruits and retain these individuals after their initial terms of service. These incentives include military pay and entitlements, education and job assistance, and retirement benefits.
  • Despite improvements in precision recruiting, pay, and benefits, and general outreach, several challenges continue to hamper efforts by the PLAN and other services to recruit the best possible candidates. These included overburdened recruiting officials, ineffectual support for military recruitment within China’s universities, and low physical fitness among potential recruits.

Publication Date

May 6, 2026

Publisher

China Maritime Studies Institute, U.S Naval War College

City

Newport, Rhode Island

Keywords

China, PRC, China Maritime Studies Institute, CMSI, People’s Liberation Army, PLAN, PLAN Navy, Recruitment, Conscription, Manpower, Training, Academies

China Maritime Report #53: Filling the Ranks: China's Military Recruiting System and the PLA Navy

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