Branches of service

The People's Liberation Army Ground Force has standing regular army and reserve force. Although conscription is employed in China by law, mandatory military service has not been implemented since 1949 as the People's Liberation Army has been able to recruit sufficient numbers voluntarily. Chinese militia is not a component of the People's Liberation Army, however they could provide a certain degree of reserve function, which was indicated by "Militia Military Training and Evaluation Outline" released by the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department in 2007.

PLAGF branches of service (Chinese: 兵种; pinyin: Bīngzhǒng) are composed of infantry (including mechanized infantry), tanker, artillery, aviation, military engineering, anti-chemical (nuclear, biological and chemical defense), signaller, special operation, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, etc. These branches of service have their respective military education institutions.