Chinese military ends era of providing paid services to concentrate on soldiering

The People’s Liberation Army and the nation’s armed police are set to stop providing all paid services in a move to curb corruption and make the army more loyal and focused on combat, reported the South China Morning Post. The reform, first announced by President Xi Jinping in November, is expected to be completed in three years. The cut will end the military’s decades-long participation in business, marking the further modernization of the PLA and following the practice of most developed countries of banning their armed forces developing commercial interests, said Wu Ge, a Beijing-based military commentator.