How does the PLA train?

The first two decades of PLA modernization (from about 1979 to 1998) set the stage for a new level and intensity in Chinese military training which began after 1999 and continues to this day. In the 1980s and 1990s, the PLA occasionally would conduct large-scale training exercises where more than one full division was in the field at the same time, some of which were publicized by the GPD's propaganda apparatus in books and film. But the most advanced training was undertaken by only a part of the large force with priority given to RRUs and was often limited in duration, complexity, and realism. ¹ Single service training focused at regimental and division level appeared to be the most prevalent “large-scale” form of exercise. ² Force-on-force (duikang, often called “confrontational” or “opposing force”) exercises, allowing for free play or maneuver by opposing commanders, had been introduced and were gradually expanding throughout the army. Though PLA planners were developing the vision of where they would like to take the Chinese military, limited funding, equipment shortcomings, personnel shortfalls, and lack of experience in contemporary combat methods constrained many aspects of training for the first two decades of their modernization program.