PLA plans core restructuring
China’s President Xi Jinping has launched an ambitious restructuring of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with the force to be progressively reformed by 2020.
A 24-26 November meeting allowed the Central Military Commission (CMC) to lay out details to senior PLA figures.
The PLA will reduce in size, with Xi stating during the 3 September parade in Beijing that China would cut 300,000 troops by 2017. The majority of cuts will affect the army as it is the largest of the PLA’s four services and those being trimmed will be mostly administrative and non-combatants to improve the ‘teeth-to-tail’ ratio.
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