With effect from January 1, army second lieutenants will receive a monthly paycheck of 3,000 yuan (360 dollars), up from the current 2,000 yuan, the Ming Pao Daily said, citing unnamed sources.

The newspaper did not give a reason for the steep increase in salaries but it is widely reported that China's military has had problems recruiting or retaining talent because of attractive salaries in the civilian sector.

Field grade officers in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) land forces will receive a salary of up to 6,000 yuan.

Officers from the PLA navy, air force and Second Artillery Corps -- the special missile arm -- will earn about twice as much as their colleagues in the land forces.

Allowances for soldiers will be increased to 300 yuan from 200 yuan, it said, while members of the paramilitary People's Armed Police, in charge of duties such as riot control, will not get any rise.

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