Why is China highlighting militias in state owned enterprises?

Editor’s Note: This piece by Natalie Liu features quotes from CSP Senior Fellow, Grant Newsham.

In what was seemingly a small development late last month, China’s Defense Ministry confirmed an ongoing push to embed People’s Armed Force units, or militias, in state-owned enterprises, or SOEs. But China experts tell VOA that there may be more to the ministry’s confirmation than meets the eye.

Some experts say the push could highlight China’s efforts to prepare for a potential conflict over Taiwan. Others see a connection between Chinese authorities’ concerns about social unrest as the economy weakens and a desire for tighter controls over society.

At the Defense Ministry’s once-a-month briefing on Oct. 26, spokesperson Wu Qian said the effort was part of China’s whole-nation approach to national defense and that the militias are available for everything from a large-scale mobilization to the response to a natural disaster.

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Grant Newsham, a retired U.S. Marine colonel who also worked as a U.S. diplomat in both East and South Asia, said it’s also worth considering the broader context of Xi Jinping’s efforts to consolidate and tighten control since he took power.

“That control is ultimately dependent on potential or actual use of violence and intimidation,” he noted. “Having these armed force units in SOEs expands and tightens control, and the psychological threat of violence.”

Newsham adds that the establishment of units in SOEs is not the only recent example of Beijing tightening social controls over Chinese and foreigners alike.

China recently expanded its counter-espionage law, which took effect on July 1. In August, the Ministry of State Security called on the public to join authorities in carrying out counter-espionage work opening up channels for the reporting of suspicious activity.

“And it seems like Xi is getting ready for a war; the new ‘units’ in the SOEs help to keep China on a war footing, without any backsliding,” Newsham added.