Chinese Navy Special Forces, or “Jiaolong Commando,” repel onto a ship during an exercise. (CGTN/Twitter)
Since the early 2000s, the PLA has undergone a drastic modernization and professionalization process, transitioning from a mainly conscript force to a smaller, mostly volunteer military, though conscription remains as a policy.
The new force’s main aim is to fight short wars against regional adversaries while having a technological advantage.
Chinese special-operations units, and the PLA as a whole, have gained from that modernization and learned from the example provided by Western special operations units over the past 60 years, but Chinese forces are still untested in combat.