ABSTRACT
Compared with other areas of Chinese military reform, civil-military relations have changed little in the past twenty-five years (1978-2003).1 However, the tremendous social changes under way in China today have led to the realization on the part of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that military modernization is taking place within the greater context of an ever-changing China, and within the constraints of what Chinese society at large can support. Defense analysts and military experts in China agree that incorporating demographic, economic, urbanization, and health factors is as important as heeding technological change where military reform is concerned.
