Report: China's military has halted most commercial activities

The Chinese military has ceased most of its commercial activities, and is on target to end all such activities by the end of the year, according to Xinhua News Agency.

By the end of last month, 100,000 out of 106,000 commercial programs undertaken by the People's Liberation Army had ended, marking an achievement in the PLA's decommercialization efforts, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

The report quoted a PLA department in charge of the work as saying that the Central Military Commission pays great attention to the decommercialization efforts, adding that 26 central government departments and nine commission agencies have been working together to push forward the objective.

Plans for the remaining commercial activities, which are "sophisticated or sensitive", are being made in accordance with related policies, while issues pertaining to legal affairs, employees, assets and debts have been properly handled according to agreed-upon schedules, the department added.

It noted that inspectors will be sent to PLA units to examine whether commercial activities have ceased and whether employees have been adequately compensated. Members of the PLA or the public are also welcome to report concerns via a hotline or email, according to the report.

The Chinese military started running its own businesses in the mid-1980s to offset a sharp decrease in the defense budget ordered by then-leader Deng Xiaoping.

In 1992, the Central Military Commission officially approved commercial activities by the PLA and the People's Armed Police Force.

In February 2016, the commission ordered the PLA and the Armed Police Force to eradicate all commercial activities within three years.

Last month, the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, State Council and Central Military Commission jointly published the Guidelines on the Complete Halt of the Military's Commercial Activities, requesting that units of the PLA and the Armed People Force cease all commercial activities by year-end.

The document also stipulates that all property, land and reception facilities owned by the military that have been used for commercial purposes will be directly administered and allocated by the Central Military Commission.