Xi Jinping calls for more support and respect for China’s military veterans

President’s directive says ‘solid efforts’ are needed to help ex-service personnel make the transition to civilian life

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In a directive, President Xi Jinping said veterans should be “among the most respected people in society”. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 29 Jul 2024

President Xi Jinping has called for more support to help veterans find work after they leave the military as the country faces a slowing economy and rising geopolitical tensions.

In a directive read out at a meeting on veterans’ affairs in Beijing on Monday, Xi said “solid efforts” were needed to help ex-service personnel make the transition to civilian life so they can play a role in society and have their rights and interests protected, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“[We must] let military service be a profession that is respected by the whole society, and let our veterans become among the most respected people in society,” Xi said in the directive.

The veterans’ affairs meeting was presided over by vice-premier Shen Yiqin. Photo: Weibo

Vice-premier Shen Yiqin presided over the meeting, which was attended by Admiral Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission – the top military command body that is also led by Xi.

China only established the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs in 2018. Before then, the country’s more than 57 million veterans lacked support after they left the military.

In the years before the ministry was set up, thousands of veterans had protested over their treatment and retirement benefits – especially those who fought in Vietnam in 1979 during a border conflict, China’s last major foreign military operation.

As well as the ministry, a new law took effect in January 2021 to strengthen protection of the legitimate rights and benefits of veterans.