As part of ongoing military reforms, China has set up a central commission to facilitate the sharing of technology and resources between the armed forces and the civilian sector.

The new agency, to be headed by President Xi Jinping, will also facilitate the demilitarisation of some of the military’s assets, according to regional security expert Li Mingjiang of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

The setting up of the body was announced in a statement yesterday.

It followed a meeting of a top decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party, the  Political Bureau.