China
celebrated 90 years of its People's Liberation Army Sunday with a massive
display of military might and vows from Chinese President Xi Jinping to
invest further in the world's largest armed forces. With advanced jets soaring
through the sky and flanks of troops marching on the ground, Xi promised
further investment in technology and new equipment as part of China's plan
for a smarter, leaner military.
The military parade at a remote training base
in China's northern Inner Mongolia region was carried live on state
television and came a day after President Donald Trump slammed China for not
doing more to stop North Korea's nuclear ambitions. It was the first time
China held Army Day celebrations since the 1949 Communist revolution,(Reuters
reported)
"Today, we are closer to the goal of the great
rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than any other time in history, and we need
to build a strong people's military more than any other time in history,"
Xi said during the speech. "Always listen to and follow the party's
orders, and march to wherever the party points," he added.
Xi spoke to 12,000 troops while wearing military fatigues and a
field cap. As martial music played from speakers to the crowd, Xi shouted to
the troops: "Hello comrades!" and "Comrades, you are
working hard!" The parade also featured H-6K bombers, J-15
carrier-based fighters and a new generation J-20 stealth fighter.
Xi said the world was facing conflict, but he did
not mention North Korea or the U.S. China insists it is not preparing for war,
but must overhaul its military to defend its borders and interests. China
is the world's second-largest economy, behind the U.S.
Trump tweeted Saturday night that he's
"disappointed" in China. "Our foolish past leaders have allowed
them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet... they do
NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk," Trump tweeted.
"We will no longer allow this to continue," he
added. "China could easily solve this problem!"
North Korea tested Friday an intercontinental ballistic
missile that showed the U.S. mainland is in its firing range, including New
York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.
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