国内英语资讯:China Focus: Xi reviews parade in field for first time_时事

国内英语资讯:China Focus: Xi reviews parade in field for first time

In just two years, the top bureaucracy was streamlined, military services balanced, the joint command system reshaped, equipment upgraded and border patrols increased.

Meanwhile, China's second aircraft carrier was launched; more warships were commissioned; and new fighter jets, drones, and missiles were unveiled.

"The size of the ground force has been greatly reduced to account for less than half of the armed forces," said General Li Zuocheng, commander of the PLA Army. "The army is getting fit as it turns modern and strong."

The Zhurihe base has also felt the pulse of Xi's reform as the largest military training ground in Asia got busy.

A lot more live-fire drills were conducted in the past few years. The country's first professional opposing forces brigade was created here, opening a new age in PLA training.

Xi on Sunday again urged the PLA to focus on war preparedness to forge an elite and powerful force that is always "ready for the fight, capable of combat and sure to win."

COMMITMENT TO PEACE

The troops frequenting the Inner Mongolian prairie today are different from the cavalry armies standing on the same turf commanded by Genghis Khan over 800 years ago.

China's modern armed forces remain committed to peace.

Chinese servicemen are actively involved in international peace-keeping missions. The country has sent about 35,000 military personnel, the most among permanent members of the UN Security Council, to at least 24 UN peace-keeping missions.