Chinese President Xi Jinping calls for the reduction in the number of soldiers in the PLA. (Photo : Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced his intentions to downsize the country's current military forces.
Xi made the announcement during a two-day military reform conference on Saturday. The President said that the military current structure needs to be adjusted and optimized to meet the needs of modern warfare, the Global Times reported.
Xi, who also heads the Central Military Commission, as well as a leading group studying reforms on national defense, specifically addressed the growth of modern information-based warfare, noting that combat now relies more on joint operations by different units.
According to China Arms Control and Disarmament Association senior consultant Xu Guangyu, the President urged senior military officers to restructure personnel in the lower ranks.
Xu said the army will likely receive the biggest cut to just around 70 to 50 percent of its current forces due to the push for continued modernization of the army. He added that China is also putting an even greater importance in its naval strategy.
Xu said that the restructuring of the armed forces is likely to be completed by the end of 2017. He added that the armed forces will likely see the proportion of non-commissioned officers growing as the training of soldiers with greater combat capability increase in importance.
The president earlier said in Sept. 2015 that China would cut its forces by around 300,000 personnel. China' People's Liberation Army (PLA) maintains the world's largest military, with more than 2.3 million active service members and 1.1 million reserve personnel, the International Business Times reported.
President Xi also emphasized the need to put more focus on developing new military technology over increasing numbers, saying that the shift is inevitable. China has recently unveiled several new military tech projects to the public, including its latest stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20.
The country has raised concerns among its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific due to its increasingly assertive stance on the issues surrounding the region.
