Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviews a multinational fleet during a naval parade held in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on April 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
Over the past few years, Xi Jinping has reshaped the PLA and is leading it to become a world-class military force.
The eyes of Shi Baodong lit up when asked about his experience at a massive military parade at Tian'anmen Square four years ago.
Standing at the rostrum, the veteran, then 89, raised his arm to salute the formation of the armed forces parading directly before him. The image became an instant hit across China.
Shi joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) as a young man, and has seen the "millet-and-rifle" infantry grow into modern armed forces. The army will celebrate the 92nd anniversary of its founding which falls on Thursday.
"Our motherland has grown strong and so has the PLA," Shi said. "President Xi Jinping is taking the people's army onto a new journey. I salute him for that."
Over the past few years, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), has reshaped the PLA and is leading it to become a world-class military force.
WORLD-CLASS FORCES
In December 2012, barely a month after he assumed the top post in the Party, Xi spoke of the need to build a strong military.
"To realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we must adhere to combining the building of a prosperous country with that of a strong military," Xi said.
In 2016, the goal of building world-class armed forces was set.
"That goal, along with building a strong military, has been the overarching strategy of the CPC's military development, reflecting the new circumstances it faces," said Cao Yanzhong, a researcher with the Academy of Military Sciences of the PLA.
A road map to fully transform the PLA into a world-class military force by the mid-21st century was unveiled at the 19th CPC National Congress in 2017.
In December 2018, Xi described it as a strategic task in socialist modernization to build a fortified national defense and a strong military commensurate with China's international standing and its security and development interests.
The envisioned world-class armed forces must provide a strong backing to the protection of China's sovereignty, security and development interests, the safeguard of world peace and stability, and the realization of the national rejuvenation, according to Xi.
"Xi's thinking on strengthening the military answers the fundamental questions of what kind of armed forces we are pursuing and how we should go about building them," said Cao.
