Xinhua News Agency:

The military parade of this year's National Day has attracted widespread attention. What is the purpose and significance of it? What are the innovations and highlights compared with similar parades in the past? And considering it is already the end of August now, can you share with us the progress of the preparation work? Thank you. 

Cai Zhijun:

Thank you for your question. The CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission have decided that a grand military parade will be held at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing on Oct.1. General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese President, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping will inspect the troops at the military parade. This year's military parade is an important part of the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC. The theme of the parade is to firmly uphold the leadership core, to reflect the characteristics of the times, to highlight national and military prestige, and to develop patriotism. The keynote of the parade is to be grand, enthusiastic, pragmatic, and economically efficient. The parade aims to highlight the characteristics of the celebrations for the National Day, comprehensively presenting the military's strength in the new era. Through the military parade, it will show that the people's armed forces always obey the Party's command, reflect the reform and achievements in building a strong armed forces, demonstrate the war preparedness and fighting capability of the people's armed forces, as well as our confidence to achieve the Party's goal of building a strong military and to transform our people's armed forces into world-class forces. Furthermore, the parade will also motivate and encourage the Party, the military, and the people of all ethnic groups in China to continue to strive for the realization of the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

In terms of its overall design, this year's military parade will reflect that the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, national defense, as well as the armed forces have entered a new era. Adhering to the general principle that the Central Military Commission exercises overall leadership, the theater commands are responsible for military operations, and the services are focusing on developing capabilities, the parade will pay attention to making scientific arrangement of different services and arms, as well as armament, highlighting the characteristics of joint organization, joint operation, and joint support. All the troops participating in the parade will be carefully organized in order to present the spirit of the revolutionary service personnel in the new era, fully exemplifying the valor and good conduct of the PLA. 

The troops involved in the parade consist of three parts, including foot phalanxes, armament phalanxes and echelon formations of aircraft. The foot phalanxes will focus on showcasing the new leadership and command systems, and size and structure after military reconstruction, thereby showing the composition of China's armed forces which are composed of the PLA, the armed police force and the militia. The armament phalanxes will highlight the capacity for self-innovation as well as the advancements made in China's national defense technological industry due to research and development. All the equipment displayed will be domestically developed and in service. Many of them will be making their debut this year. The aircraft echelon will stress the systematic development of China's air force, showcasing its operational capabilities and strength.

At the same time, the military parade will feature innovative designs to create a celebratory atmosphere, organize parade participants, display elements of the times and showcase armaments. For example, we are now employing many more innovations than before to showcase the development of China's national defense and military forces over the 70 years under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). This reflects our armed forces' glorious history and outstanding achievements marked by their successive victories. We commemorate the prominent service of our military forces at different moments in history and inherit their revolutionary genes to strive on, knowing that our military forces are making new progress in their combat capabilities by adopting new technologies and embracing different forms of warfare.

First, the different characteristics of the times. All previous military parades since the founding of the People's Republic of China showcased rich symbolism associated with different historical periods. This parade marks the first National Day parade after socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era, and it is here that the people's military forces will make their first appearance after the reform. In striving to highlight the unique characteristics of the current times, the parade will showcase a refreshing approach.

Second, the different themes and connotations. As an important part of the celebrations, the 70th anniversary parade on the National Day will be different from the parades to commemorate the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, military parade at the Zhurihe training base in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, as well as naval parades and commemorative ceremonies. In addition, to fully display the achievements of military reforms, this military parade will have a celebratory feel to it and will work in tandem with other celebration activities to complement the solemnness of the grand events.

Third, the different ways of organizing formations. The military forces to be reviewed will be divided into foot formations, armament formations and air echelons, but this will be done in an innovative way compared to previous events. This new design aims at thoroughly displaying the structure of the military forces with Chinese characteristics. It will demonstrate their capabilities of joint operations, training and logistic support as well as new combat capacities, and give greater prominence to information-led, systematic and collaborative operations. Specific innovations and the highlights will be presented on the day of the parade.

At present, the preparations for the parade are underway in a steady and orderly manner in accordance with the overall plan approved by the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission. In terms of its leadership, a three-level leading organization, comprising a leading group, a joint command and formation commands, has been set up to take charge of the planning, organization and execution of the parade. In terms of participants, all members of the formations and military bands have been finalized and stationed in Beijing and its surrounding areas. Intensive training and joint rehearsals are currently underway. In terms of support, the preparations are proceeding under the current system and the joint logistic support system in a pragmatic, thrifty, intensive and efficient way. They have received a lot of support from the CPC Central Committee, national government departments and Beijing Municipal Government.

On the whole, the preparations for the parade are making smooth progress, and the military forces to be reviewed are receiving their training in high spirits to meet first-class standards. We believe that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Xi, and with their collective efforts, the military forces to be reviewed will be able to receive the review of the Party and the people with a new look and present a grand parade showcasing the unique style of the Chinese nation, a strong army, as well as the characteristics of the current times. Thank you.