Chinese companies are doing something rarely seen since the 1970s: setting up their own volunteer armies. At least 16 major Chinese firms, including a privately-owned dairy giant, have established fighting forces over the past year, according to a CNN analysis of state media reports.
These units, known as the People's Armed Forces Departments, are composed of civilians who retain their regular jobs. They act as a reserve and auxiliary force for China's military, the world's largest, and are available for missions ranging from responding to natural disasters and helping maintain "social order" to providing support during wartime.
The forces, which do not currently operate outside China, have more in common with America's National Guard than its militia movement, which refers to private paramilitary organizations that usually have a right-wing political focus.
The establishment of corporate brigades highlights Beijing's growing concerns about potential conflict abroad as well as social unrest at home as the economy stumbles, analysts say.
The revival is also seen as a response to the pandemic, and part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's efforts to tighten Communist Party control over society, including the corporate sector.
"The return of corporate militias reflects Xi's rising focus on the need to better integrate economic development with national security as the country faces a more difficult future of slower growth and rising geopolitical competition," said Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.
"Corporate militias under military leadership could help the Communist Party more effectively quell incidents of social unrest such as consumer protests and employee strikes."
China's economy grew 5.2% in 2023, slightly better than the official target that Beijing had set. But the country is facing a myriad of challenges, including a record property downturn, surging youth unemployment, deflationary pressure, rising corporate defaults and mounting financial stress at local governments.
Protests appear to be spreading as frustration grows. The number of labor strikes and demonstrations surged to 1,794 in 2023, more than doubling from 2022, when 830 cases were recorded, according to data from the China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based non-profit organization that monitors workers' protests.
Just over a year ago, protesters clashed with police at the world's biggest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, as anger boiled over against Apple supplier Foxconn for reneging on promises to increase pay and benefits to attract workers back after the pandemic.
Outside the corporate sector, militia units are often organized by local governments and universities, according to rules on militia work. These units still exist in most of these places today, only on a much smaller scale than in previous decades.
Most of the companies that have so far announced militias have been state-owned enterprises (SOE), which are directly owned by central or regional governments.
But in December, Yili Group, the world's fifth largest dairy producer, became the first major privately-controlled Chinese company in recent history to set up a People's Armed Forces Department unit.
Keep reading about what these corporate militias do.
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