China's Defense Spending Thread

[chinois49]

The burning rate for hold Yuan is 100 billions$/month! 50% of defense spendings per month!!!
BEIJING, 7 Jan. Total foreign exchange reserves of China fell during December on record 107,9 billion to $ 3,330 trillion, according to the official account of the people’s Bank of China social network Weibo.

The total volume of currency reserves of China have also decreased 87.2 billion to UAH 3,438 trillion. In turn, the volume reserve position of China in the IMF fell from 4,596 billion to $ 4,547 billion.

Earlier Thursday, were suspended from trading on Chinese stock exchanges before the end of the trading day after the key index tumbled 7%.

The index of Shanghai stock exchange Shanghai Composite Index fell by 7.3% and amounted to 3115,89 points, Shenzhen Shenzhen Composite Index fell by 6.77% to 1989,58 item.

In addition, China on Thursday downgraded 0.51% the value of the Renminbi to the dollar. The dollar was 6,5646 yuan — the lowest since August 2015, when the Bank of China has sharply weakened its currency to the U.S. dollar.
If the Yuan slips...Currency War???

 

[tphuang]

The burning rate for hold Yuan is 100 billions$/month! 50% of defense spendings per month!!!
BEIJING, 7 Jan. Total foreign exchange reserves of China fell during December on record 107,9 billion to $ 3,330 trillion, according to the official account of the people’s Bank of China social network Weibo.

The total volume of currency reserves of China have also decreased 87.2 billion to UAH 3,438 trillion. In turn, the volume reserve position of China in the IMF fell from 4,596 billion to $ 4,547 billion.

Earlier Thursday, were suspended from trading on Chinese stock exchanges before the end of the trading day after the key index tumbled 7%.

The index of Shanghai stock exchange Shanghai Composite Index fell by 7.3% and amounted to 3115,89 points, Shenzhen Shenzhen Composite Index fell by 6.77% to 1989,58 item.

In addition, China on Thursday downgraded 0.51% the value of the Renminbi to the dollar. The dollar was 6,5646 yuan — the lowest since August 2015, when the Bank of China has sharply weakened its currency to the U.S. dollar.
If the Yuan slips...Currency War???

If you intend to change this to an economic or forex conversation, please do at least some study on how this works in a restricted currency like RMB. Otherwise, please carry on this discussion in economic thread in the appropriate forum.

 

[Totoro]

Is there a proper source on recent average soldier (not officer) salary in the PLA?
I found this

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

but i've no idea about credibility of the source plus the figure doesn't have proper context. up to 13 thousand dollars per year?

Then there's this:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Translating to under 6000 dollars - for a lieutenant. As far as i can tell, US army would pay a lieutenant 80 or 100% more than a regular soldier. While even 6000 dollars per year seems too low, 3-4 thousand for a soldier's salary seems way too low for today's China. Would then really millions seek a job in the army if salary was that low?

Does anyone have up to date figures (2014 or newer, please)?

 

[schlieffen]

Is there a proper source on recent average soldier (not officer) salary in the PLA?
I found this

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

but i've no idea about credibility of the source plus the figure doesn't have proper context. up to 13 thousand dollars per year?

Then there's this:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Translating to under 6000 dollars - for a lieutenant. As far as i can tell, US army would pay a lieutenant 80 or 100% more than a regular soldier. While even 6000 dollars per year seems too low, 3-4 thousand for a soldier's salary seems way too low for today's China. Would then really millions seek a job in the army if salary was that low?

Does anyone have up to date figures (2014 or newer, please)?

Keep in mid that the PLA is an conscription army. Mandatory military service is still in force so enlistees are not professional soldiers and do not receive salary for their service. They are instead given a small allowance as pocket money, which depends on several factors might range between RMB 500-1.5k per month ($100-300), but mostly at the lower end.


In addition, soldiers are given some money when they retire from mandatory service. Technically that’s a resettle allowance to help them reenter civilian life. The amount varies hugely depends on where the enlistee came from. The lower limit is something around RMB 6-7k which is what most people get, essentially the ticket money for the journey home plus a few months of food and rent. Since in many areas of China (especially rural areas) entering the conscription program is so hard that parents have to either bribe the recruiting officer or seeking guanxi, naturally the government has no incentive to compensate for their service.


In sharp contrast, it is infinitely harder to produce adequate enlistee in more wealthy areas – the ‘mandatory’ part has never really been enforced – so local governments often offer a very considerable sum as compensation. For example in metropolitan Beijing a high school graduate could get around 60k in total while a college graduate could get as much as 180k after two years service.

 

[schlieffen]

Then there's this:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Translating to under 6000 dollars - for a lieutenant. As far as i can tell, US army would pay a lieutenant 80 or 100% more than a regular soldier. While even 6000 dollars per year seems too low, 3-4 thousand for a soldier's salary seems way too low for today's China. Would then really millions seek a job in the army if salary was that low?

I read the article and I think the figures should not be taken at face value. In China public servants (military officers included) usually received much more than their nominal salary by the mean of a great variety of allowances and perks. Furthermore, they are offered many services (food, accommodation, house, kids education, etc,) at heavily subsidized price.


Since Xi came to power he launched a determined campaign to cut these perks from government servants as they’re a hotbed of corruption. This caused an outcry throughout the bureaucracy. Rising salary is part of the concerted effort to compensate for their losses.

 

[In4ser]

Keep in mid that the PLA is an conscription army.

That's news to me. I always thought PLA is entirely compose of volunteers because it wants a professional army. Sure there is legislation stating that service mandatory but its rarely enforced and its not different the U.S. Selective Services which mandates all young males 18-25 register with U.S. Armed Services. I doubt anyone would call the U.S. military a conscription military.

 

[newguy02]

Keep in mid that the PLA is an conscription army. Mandatory military service is still in force so enlistees are not professional soldiers and do not receive salary for their service. They are instead given a small allowance as pocket money, which depends on several factors might range between RMB 500-1.5k per month ($100-300), but mostly at the lower end.


In addition, soldiers are given some money when they retire from mandatory service. Technically that’s a resettle allowance to help them reenter civilian life. The amount varies hugely depends on where the enlistee came from. The lower limit is something around RMB 6-7k which is what most people get, essentially the ticket money for the journey home plus a few months of food and rent. Since in many areas of China (especially rural areas) entering the conscription program is so hard that parents have to either bribe the recruiting officer or seeking guanxi, naturally the government has no incentive to compensate for their service.


In sharp contrast, it is infinitely harder to produce adequate enlistee in more wealthy areas – the ‘mandatory’ part has never really been enforced – so local governments often offer a very considerable sum as compensation. For example in metropolitan Beijing a high school graduate could get around 60k in total while a college graduate could get as much as 180k after two years service.

Like In4ser said, while technically military service is compulsory, its never really been enforced, so the current PLA is pretty much made up of all volunteer soldiers.

 

[schlieffen]

That's news to me. I always thought PLA is entirely compose of volunteers because it wants a professional army. Sure there is legislation stating that service mandatory but its rarely enforced and its not different the U.S. Selective Services which mandates all young males 18-25 register with U.S. Armed Services. I doubt anyone would call the U.S. military a conscription military.

But the Selective Service System is only an contingency plan. Registered citizens are not drafted unless the nation mobilizes.


While in practice the Chinese drafting system is pretty much voluntary, this does not make the volunteers professional soldiers – for enlistees their military service is still a national service, not a job.

 

[schlieffen]

Like In4ser said, while technically military service is compulsory, its never really been enforced, so the current PLA is pretty much made up of all volunteer soldiers.

You pretty much answered your own question. Like I said voluntary solider =/= professional soldier.

Furthermore, I’m not sure the PLA is actually moving towards a full professional army. Sure the slogan has always been the ‘professionalization’ of the military and the rising proportion of career soldiers (especially NCOs) have always been viewed as positive, but a full professional service and the accompanied abolition of compulsory conscription is primarily a political decision instead of an organizational one.

While the CCP ruling elite probably don’t care very much about classical republicanism and liberalism, they do care about the coherence of their political doctrine. In China political education of the youth places very heavy emphasis on one’s obligations to the state above one’s individual rights (anyone grows up in China till adulthood could testify this). Whether the government actually drafts you is not a decision for you to make – even if 99% are given exemption, that is a decision made by someone above you for the sake of greater good, not because you’re entitled to any leeway. For the authority, abolishing conscription would send a wrong message, as if the government is encouraging individualism and civil liberty. Avoiding that alone would worth all the effort and trouble to maintain a unnecessary and often counterproductive system.


OK enough for the off-topic discussion. Back to topic, I don’t think soldiers’ salary has great impact on military spending. Even if all service personals are paid at the median income of urban dwellers (around 26k/yr) that’s still a very small fraction of the total military sending, less than 8% actually.

 

[weig2000]

Even if all service personals are paid at the median income of urban dwellers (around 26k/yr) that’s still a very small fraction of the total military sending, less than 8% actually.

Where do you get your numbers? Is the 26k/yr in USD? Do you know the prevailing minimum wages in major cities or provinces?

The rest of your comments sound more like political rumbling based more on ideology than facts.