By its peak in the late eighties, the PLA’s commercial empire had nearly 20,000 companies. On top of oil services, a business spun out of the Daqing oil fields, the military had their hands in everything from five-star hotels, pharmaceuticals and light manufacturing, to trading and smuggling commodities and making weapons for export. The profits were meant to fund improved living conditions for ordinary soldiers. In reality, much of the money went into the pockets of venal generals and their relatives and cronies.
