2011-09-23(China Military News cited from AFP)
China's People's Liberation Army is on a major charm offensive to attract a booming student population as the world's biggest fighting force targets the skills its needs to modernise.
The 2.3 million-strong PLA saw a budget increase of 12.7 percent to around US$90 billion (S$117.2 billion) in 2011, according to official figures, and Beijing has said the extra funds will be channelled primarily into modernising ageing technology.
"Modernisation involves two main challenges: mechanisation and computerisation", said senior colonel Geng Yansheng - chief press officer for China's defence ministry.
"It's about going from a quantitative army to a qualitative one, going from high human density to high technological density," he said, referring to a process that started in the 1990s.
As the number of graduates in China grows - up from 3.38 million in 2005 to 6.3 million in 2010, according to colonel Jiang Jiping, in charge of recruitment - they represent a rich source of talent.
"The army is looking to recruit students in order to adapt to the needs of modernisation and take account of the cultural changes among young people", Jiang told members of the French Association of Defence Journalists.
What they "bring to the modernisation of the army is very visible", he said.
"In the navy (the PLA includes the navy and air force), where there is a lot of new technology, they are capable of picking up technical training quickly", he added.
Senior colonel Yan Feng, commander of the air force's 24th division based in the northern city of Tianjin, near Beijing, confirmed that he recruited pilots from both military schools and universities.
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