| Summary: | The purpose of this thesis is to explore the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) modernization efforts and how banking reforms are instrumental to that effort. China must modernize its weaponry in order for the PLA to be a credible military force and enable China to continue its rise as a regional and global power. Bank reforms are one methodology for continued PLA modernization because the PLA desperately needs significant and sustained defense budget expenditures in order to bring the PLA into the 21st century. PLA modernization expenditures will have to compete with other societal reform programs for the windfall from an expanding economy. As China becomes older, wealthier, and more urbanized, Chinese Communist Party leaders will come under increasing pressure to provide more social services to its citizens. Defense expenditures and PLA modernization efforts will have to compete with additional government spending on pensions, health care, public infrastructure and the environment. Continued banking reform is an essential component to grow the Chinese economy and secure the significant and sustained defense spending that is critical to the PLA modernization effort. === US Air Force (USAF) author.
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