China’s modernizing army: A look at the PLA’s evolution

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Europe

By CGTN America

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is among the world’s largest standing armies, and it’s taking on a greater role in international diplomacy while defending the country's territorial integrity.

The communist-led Chinese troops who fought against Japanese invaders during the Second World War, began its 90-year-long evolution with an armed uprising on August 1, 1927 in the city of Nanchang in east China's Jiangxi Province.

Renamed the PLA after China’s revolution, it’s now one of the largest armies in the world.

AFP Photo

Spending on defense had lagged behind countries like the US for years – but that is changing, with China now ramping up defense budgets while increasing its global profile. The country just established its first overseas military base in Djibouti.

At the same time, military leaders want the PLA to be a leaner modern force – cutting troops by 300,000 this year.

"The PLA will perform its operations and its missions more effectively in a new historical period,” says Zhang Yijun, the defense attache to China’s embassy in Washington, DC.

AFP Photo

With territorial disputes on land and on the South China Sea with some of its neighbors though, Chinese officials insist they are not seeking conflict.

According to Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the US: “Military to military relations should be an important stabilizing factor in the overall China-US relationship.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump will have an opportunity to test that relationship when the US leader visits China later this year.