Images from a military parade celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at Zhurihe training base in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, July 30, 2017 [Xinhua]Chinese President Xi Jinping has said the world is not at peace at a military parade held Sunday to mark the 90th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
“The world is not all at peace, and peace must be safeguarded,” Xi said at Zhurihe training base in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sunday.
Xi is also the chairman of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC).
“Today we are closer than ever before to the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and now more than any other time in history, we need to build a strong people’s military,” he added.
Xi said the Chinese army must “unswervingly stick to… the Party’s absolute leadership”.
The Communist Party has ruled the country since 1949. China has been modernising its armed forces recently as its economy expands. China has said it will increase military spending by about 7 per cent this year as ooposed to a 10 per cent boost to defence spending announced by the Trump administration in the US.
On Sunday, Xi inspected troops, tanks, missile launchers and other military vehicles, from the back of a jeep, an event carried live on state television. Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said 12000 troops participated in the drills.
It was the first time China has marked Army Day, celebrated on Aug. 1, with a military parade since the Communist revolution in 1949, state news agency Xinhua said.
TBP and Agencies
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