Beijing: China held a parade of its armed forces today to mark the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in a display of military might.
Since coming to power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has led efforts to modernise the PLA -- still the world's largest standing military -- and to consolidate the ruling Communist Party's control over the armed forces.
At the expansive Zhurihe training base in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region, Xi, who has also trumpeted building a stronger, combat-ready army, appeared wearing a camouflage military suit.
He stood inside an open-top field jeep that drove past lines of troops for his inspection.
"Comrades, you have worked hard," he said, to which the troops responded: "We are serving the people!"
China said in March it would raise its defence spending by around seven percent this year, the slowest annual percentage increase since 1991.
Beijing is engaged in a decades-long build-up and modernisation of its once-backward armed forces, as it seeks military clout commensurate with its economic might and increasingly asserts its disputed territorial claims in Asian waters.
The PLA, originally called the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, was founded in 1927 when Communist soldiers seized the southern Jiangxi provincial town of Nanchang from Nationalist Party ("Kuomintang") armies in what is known today as the Nanchang uprising.
Since coming to power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has led efforts to modernise the PLA -- still the world's largest standing military -- and to consolidate the ruling Communist Party's control over the armed forces.
At the expansive Zhurihe training base in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region, Xi, who has also trumpeted building a stronger, combat-ready army, appeared wearing a camouflage military suit.
"Comrades, you have worked hard," he said, to which the troops responded: "We are serving the people!"
Advertisement
Beijing is engaged in a decades-long build-up and modernisation of its once-backward armed forces, as it seeks military clout commensurate with its economic might and increasingly asserts its disputed territorial claims in Asian waters.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Days After India Visit, Bangladesh PM In China To Hold Talks With Xi Jinping China Pledges Support For Tajikistan 'Territorial Integrity' "China-Russia Ties At High Level": Xi After Meeting "Old Friend" Putin World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Barack Obama Wants Joe Biden To Pull Out Of US Presidential Race: Report Relationship Timeline Of Hardik Pandya, Wife Who "Parted Ways": 5 Facts NEET PG 2024: Test Cities Out For Postgraduate Medical Entrance Exam After 53 Years, Mortar Shells From 1971 Indo-Pak War Found In Fish Pond "Humanitarian Crisis Due To Israel-Hamas Conflict Concerning": India At UN Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.