China says it will cut its military by 300,000 soldiers — but it’s more complex than that

Thousands of troops marched to Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Thursday, a show of strength during a parade marking 70 years since the end of World War II.

But amidst the fanfare, Chinese President Xi Jinping also announced a major reduction to the Chinese military force. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) will see a reduction of 300,000 military personnel — but it's a move not necessarily aimed at reducing the military's capability.

“This seems to be a modernization, and it also seems to be a brilliant PR move,” says Jonathan Kaiman, Asia correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. “China wants to present this parade, despite the clear implication that China’s flexing its military muscle, as China’s coming out to the world as a peaceful power.”

China wants to convince the world that it is set on maintaining peace, despite their increased assertiveness in the East and South China Seas. For the last year, the international press has been awash with reports that Chinese ships and dredgers are building islands in the ocean to serve as bases for the Chinese navy and air force — as of late August, China had also reclaimed 2,900 acres in the Spratly Islands, an increase of 50 percent since May.

“When Xi got up and said this, the optics are very clear — he wanted to present China as the kind of country that would both reduce its military force, and also maintain a very strong one,” Kaiman says.

The PLA is one of the world’s largest military forces with about 2 million active members and an additional 2,300,000 in the reserves. The new cuts are the largest since 1997, when a reduction of 500,000 military personnel was announced.

“It’s important to keep in mind how anachronistic China’s military is in so many respects,” says Kaiman. “China has this massive military ground force. It looks big in numbers with millions of troops, but it doesn’t really have much to do with China’s current naval or military ambitions at large. I think China’s trying to shift its military system to one that takes these territorial ambitions into account.”

According to state media, 84 percent of the 500 pieces of military equipment China put on display at Thursday’s parade have never been seen by the public, something analyst took note of.

“One thing that [military analysts] have noticed is that China put two ballistic missiles on display that could potentially destroy aircraft carriers, which I think changes the calculus for the US when dealing with China’s territorial ambitions in the South China Sea,” says Kaiman. “But they could also feasibly reach US troops stationed on Guam. I’m sure there are a lot of people over at the Pentagon right now trying to figure out what all this means and how to respond.”

This story first aired as an interview on PRI's The Takeaway, a public radio program that invites you to be part of the American conversation.