Why China’s companies are recruiting their own militias
Officials want to keep things calm in an era of slowing growth
Employees of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), a giant state-owned lender, typically wear suits. But some are now slipping into combat fatigues. On April 19th an ICBC branch in the western province of Qinghai said it had organised some of its staff into a part-time militia. As well as uniforms, they have training facilities, a “command centre” and a warehouse for storing military equipment. ICBC wants to “contribute its strength towards national defence”, the manager of the branch told local media.
Explore more
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Stability starts in the workplace”
From the May 4th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from China
Which Olympic sports is China good at?
The country’s athletes seem to prefer competing indoors and as individuals
To revive the economy, China wants consumers to buy better stuff
It is offering them money to do so
When China hides disasters in a memory hole
A revealing attempt to forget a terrible plane crash
China is itching to mine the ocean floor
It wants to dominate critical-mineral supply chains
China unveils its new economic vision
It promises many reforms, but remains ambivalent about the role of the market
The nationalism of ideas
Xi Jinping wants Chinese systems of knowledge, free of Western values