Legal analysis: According to the provisions of the Military Service Law, all young people in China who have reached the age of 18 have the obligation to perform military service. The service period of conscripts is two years. After the expiration of two years, I can choose to become a non-commissioned officer or retire according to my wishes and the needs of army building. In other words, normal military service only takes two years.

If you are a non-commissioned officer, you can retire after serving for 30 years or reaching the age of 55.

Legal basis: People's Republic of China (PRC) Military Service Law.

Article 19 The term of active service for conscripts shall be two years.

Article 20 Upon the expiration of active service, a conscript may, according to the needs of the army, be changed to a non-commissioned officer on his own initiative and with the approval of a unit at or above the regimental level. According to the needs of the army, non-commissioned officers can be recruited directly from citizens with professional skills in non-military departments.

Non-commissioned officers take active service and implement a graded service system. The term of active service for non-commissioned officers is generally not more than 30 years, and the age is not more than 55 years.

Measures for the graded service of non-commissioned officers and the direct recruitment of non-commissioned officers from non-military departments shall be formulated by the State Council and the Central Military Commission (CMC).