Many of China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have revived Mao Zedong-era in-house reserve military units, in a sign of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) deepening apprehensions regarding social and political instability amid the country’s economic slow down. Recent analyses conducted by the Financial Times (FT), scrutinising company announcements and state media reports throughout 2023, revealed a surge in the establishment of People’s Armed Forces Departments (PAFDs) within numerous Chinese SOEs.
Historically, these units were integral to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) recruitment efforts, operating at the county and village levels during Mao’s reign. However, contemporary PAFDs primarily engage in civil defence activities and contribute to the recruitment, promotion, and training of military personnel.
Experts attribute their revival not to the threat of foreign adversaries, but to the CCP’s growing unease in the face of economic and geopolitical complexities.
Timothy Heath, a senior international defence researcher at the Rand Corporation, said that the activation of such units “is a symptom of the leadership’s concern about the domestic social stability situation.” He added that “because it’s happening in so many places all at once, this is almost certainly being directed from the top down.”
Further, the establishment of PAFDs within China’s state-backed businesses reflects a concerted effort to enhance national defence readiness in an increasingly uncertain world.