BEIJING—China’s military has relaxed its height, eyesight and weight requirements for soldiers in an effort to attract more educated personnel, the state-owned China Daily newspaper said Tuesday.

Male recruits can now be 1.6 metres tall (5-foot-2), down from 1.62 metres, while the minimum height for women will reduced by the same margin to 1.58 metres, the paper said, citing the Ministry of Defense’s recruitment office. The upper weight limit for male enlistees was relaxed to “allow more portly young men” into the military, it said.

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Eyesight standards were also lowered because nearly 70 per cent of high school and university students in China are short-sighted, it said. Mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, dissociative disorder, depression and bipolar disorder, have also been removed from a list of conditions barring candidates from enlisting, according to the paper.

The looser requirements come as President Xi Jinping tries to hone the world’s largest army by head count into a professional fighting force capable of winning wars.

An effort by China’s military to attract better-educated recruits has been hampered by a decline in the health of candidates. According to Beijing’s army recruitment office, some 60 per cent of college students fail the physical fitness examination, with most graduates being overweight, the China Daily reported in August.

The People’s Liberation Army will also be more tolerant of tattoos, the paper said, though “obscene or violent matter or referring to illegal organizations,” will not be allowed.

Enlisting more high-quality soldiers is “extremely important” for building a strong and capable military, the China Daily said, citing unidentified recruitment officials.

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