President Xi welcomes opening of International Army Games 2017

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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent a congratulatory video to the International Army Games 2017 as the opening ceremony took place in Moscow.

The Russia-initiated games, comprising of 28 events, will be held in China, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan from July 29 to August 12.

On behalf of the Chinese government and Central Military Commission (CMC), President Xi, also chairman of the CMC, sent a warm congratulatory message and extended his sincere greetings to the participants of the games.

The military games have been held three times since they were initiated by the Russian Defense Ministry in 2014, and have become an important platform for armies of the region to enhance military communication and cooperation, strengthen friendship and learn from each other, said Xi.

Global military cooperation is significant as it aims to enhance strategic mutual trust and safeguard world and regional peace and stability, Xi pointed out, adding that he hoped the Chinese army can strengthen its military cooperation with armies of other countries in a bid to yield more new achievements in the field and make new contributions to world peace.

At the end of the video, Xi wished the games a complete success and for each delegation to achieve excellent results.

This is the fourth time the Chinese army has participated in the games, and China will, for the first time, help co-organize a part of the games.

China will organize a total of six competitions, four of which are in Korla, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, one in Changchun, Jilin Province, and one in Guangshui, Hubei Province.

The Chinese army teams will go to Russia and Kazakhstan to participate in the tank biathlon, army scout masters and other events.

Congratulatory video footage of Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of other co-organizing countries were also broadcast at the opening ceremony.