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Carl Zhang

Edith Mao

China’s military academies are seeing growing interest from students as the government offers incentives such as subsidised tuition fees to attract more young recruits and as rivalry with the United States drives patriotism.
The defence ministry’s announcement last month that three new military academies would start recruiting high school graduates from this summer has been viewed more than 8 million times on social media platform Weibo. Many users said they were excited to have the opportunity to serve their country.
The new academies are the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force Service Academy in Hefei, Anhui province; the PLA Information Support Force Engineering University in Wuhan, Hubei; and the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force Engineering University in Chongqing.
But recruitment will not be expanded – the total number of new recruits will be “basically the same” as last year, the ministry said, without elaborating.
The new academies have incorporated some units from existing military schools. Those mergers are part of a restructure of the military education system in recent years, which the ministry said was being done to create a “more efficient and higher quality” system for nurturing talent and to achieve what it called a “core need for war preparation”.


The ministry has also scrapped the requirement for military academy students to have three years of work experience before they can become commanders. From this year, students can sit postgraduate entrance exams to follow this career path immediately after they graduate from a military academy.
Students who join the military can also receive tuition subsidies and benefit from preferential admission and employment policies, as well as post-retirement skills training, according to the education ministry.
Beijing has ambitious modernisation plans for the military and has set a target of turning the PLA into a world-class fighting force by the middle of the century.
The military struggled to attract enough recruits – especially those with the technical skills needed to operate modern weaponry – in the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, when the job market was strong.
But that has since changed. The urban jobless rate among those aged 16 to 24 has soared as the country grapples with an economic slowdown. The rate, excluding students, stood at 15.8 per cent in April, according to official data.
Meanwhile, as tensions have escalated with the US there has been an upsurge of nationalism in China, in part due to war films like The Battle at Lake Changjin and Operation Hadal hitting cinema screens, as well as compulsory patriotic education.
“Today’s youngsters have a very strong sense of patriotism and hope to become military talent with strong professional skills who can serve the country,” said Xie Yuzhong, an education agent with Haolan College Application Consultancy in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
Xie said an increasing number of high school graduates had shown interest in military colleges and defence-related majors in recent years.
“The excellent teaching quality at the military academies and in related majors is another important reason they’re attracting these candidates,” he added.

Zhang Minnong, 20, is in his third year at the PLA Air Force Aviation University in Changchun, Jilin province.
“I came across the air force pilot recruitment team in senior high,” Zhang said, adding that he decided to “have a try at the initial selection process and unexpectedly went on to pass all the stages”.
He said he had an interest in defence and his career choice was supported by his family and friends.
“When I graduate I’ll become either an air force pilot or a combatant commander,” he said. “My classmates and I will be randomly assigned across the country to carry out combat readiness exercises and training missions.”
Another 21-year-old student, who asked to be identified only as Theo, is majoring in regional strategic studies at an overseas university.
“I’m from a military family. My choice of major was driven by my interests and influenced by my family culture,” he said.
“In the long term, I’m considering a career in strategic analysis in the Chinese army. I’m relatively familiar with the military system and have an emotional connection to it,” he said. “I also recognise the importance of defence strategy to national security and development.”
But as the competition between China and the US intensifies and the geopolitical situation remains tense, some parents are concerned about their children joining the military.
In Shanghai, Wu Shuang said she would be “very cautious” about sending her 16-year-old son to a military academy given the increasing risk of conflict.
“My son is a fan of military knowledge, and now he’s keen on military schools. But there’s a chance a war could break out some time given the flashpoints of Taiwan, the South China Sea, et cetera,” Wu said. “China hasn’t been at war with any country for decades – we’re used to peace.”
Beijing resident Zhang Yiyou said his 15-year-old son loved STEM subjects and was looking to study abroad.
“It’s important for him to study overseas to broaden his vision. I hope he can study for a master’s or higher degree in the US after he graduates from a university here,” Zhang said.
“So we’ll try to avoid military schools and Chinese universities like the ones allegedly linked to the military so that the application goes smoothly.”


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China

Military

High youth unemployment rate, a rise in patriotism, and incentives like subsidised tuition fees are fuelling interest in the PLA


High youth unemployment rate, a rise in patriotism, and incentives like subsidised tuition fees are fuelling interest in the PLA.


United States

Why more young Chinese have military academies in their sights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}High youth unemployment rate, a rise in patriotism, and incentives like subsidised tuition fees are fuelling interest in the PLA

High youth unemployment rate, a rise in patriotism, and incentives like subsidised tuition fees are fuelling interest in the PLA