It is composed of a trained force of (mostly retired veteran) civilians that retain an inactive military status, and are subject to fast mobilization.

The PLA reserve forces are directly under the leadership of the Central Military Commission (CMC).

The reserve force of the People's Liberation Army of China was originally established with the formalization of the PLA structures in 1955, but was soon abolished in 1957.

[2] In May 1984, the reserve force was included in the Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China.

It eliminated the dual authority system, and for the first time excluded the Militia from the formal reserve force.

The most central of those offices is the National Defense Mobilization Department, which is responsible for assigning reservists to units, and for calling them up when needed.

That means that only those pre-registered, with a predetermined obligation to join a specific unit when mobilized, are classified as reserve personnel, thus excluding the militia.

Technical track officers: 50 The approximately 550,000 reservists of the PLA Reserve Force are assigned to units that are maintained in peacetime as skeletal organizations with a standing active service staff.