Conscription in China
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) began as an all-volunteer force. In 1955, as part of an effort to modernize the PLA, the first Military Service Law created a system of compulsory military service. Since the late 1970s, the Chinese conscription laws mandate a hybrid system that combines conscripts and volunteers. Due to sufficient volunteer recruitment, mandatory military service has not been enacted in China since 1949.