Due to the sliding economy, Beijing has been asking local governments to keep tight budgets. Now it has also asked the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to do the same.
China’s Central Military Commission recently issued a document titled “Measures on Building the Military with Hard Work and in Thrifty Way, to Improve the Military’s Quality and Efficiency.” The document states that “building the military with hard work and in a thrifty way is the fine tradition of the communist party and military,” and “must not be abandoned at any time or under any circumstances.” It urged the military to “firmly establish the mindset of living with a tight budget, meticulously calculate and manage all endeavors with thrift.” According to the website of China’s Ministry of Veterans Affairs, the document emphasizes the need to “adopt concepts such as resource constraints, cost-effectiveness, integration of support, performance management, and systematic governance, to enhance the operational efficiency of military systems and the utilization efficiency of defense resources.”
Source: China’s Ministry of Veterans Affairs website, June 20, 2024
https://www.mva.gov.cn/sy/xx/gfxx/202406/t20240621_425230.html