China revamps military recruitment

China has moved up its military recruitment season to coincide with college graduation. It's part of measures to attract quality recruits. The online recruitment service run by the Ministry of National Defense is now accepting applications, and registration will be finished at the end of the month. Physical exams will begin in August, and the whole recruiting process is expected to end in September. Tang Bo reports on the changes.

Ready to serve their country.

On Friday, the nationwide military service registration officially kicked off.

It comes 4 months early, one measure by the Chinese military to attract more talented people.

"Since the military recruitment period has been moved up to summer time, college graduates and those who are graduating have got the chance to join the army," People'S Armed Force District Dept of Nanjing Li Bin said.

Previously, recruitment began in October, which meant the army and graduates missed out.

"Changing the recruitment period to summer is good news for those graduates like me who want to join the army. Most of the graduating students were out doing internships when the time was set in October, and they had to miss the chance to know the latest recruitment information and register," student of Nanjing Inst. of Info. Technology Fan Xinlei said.

The Ministry of National Defense has made admission of better-educated young applicants a priority.

"The Chinese military started recruiting college graduates in 2001. By the end of 2009, more than 130 thousand had joined the PLA. In 2011, to create a bigger pool, the country amended the Military Service Law and relaxed restrictions regarding height, weight, and appearance of recruits," CCTV reporter Tang Bo said.

Last year, the Ministry of National Defense launched incentive policies, such as tuition compensation and job placement after military service.

China's military is undergoing informatization and developing new weapons.

Incentives and the earlier recruitment season are expected to attract the new generation of soldiers with the necessary skills.