China has decided to further cut its troops by 200,000 to 2.3
million by the year 2005, following the previous disarmament of
500,000 during the Ninth Five Year Plan Period (1996-2000).
The decision, jointly made by the Chinese Communist Party
Central Committee and the Central Military Commission (CMC), was
announced in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province,
by CMC Chairman Jiang Zemin at a celebration marking the 50th
anniversary of the founding of the National Defense Science and
Technology University of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
"To shrink China's armed forces is not only in accordance with
the world military reform trend but also out of the necessity of
the national economic construction," said Jiang.
With the development of modern science and technology,
especially information technology, global competition in military
affairs has intensified, Jiang said, pointing out the current
transformation from mechanized warfare to information warfare, with
the information capabilities of the army playing an increasingly
decisive role.
"Further reducing the scale of the army will help us concentrate
our limited strategic resources to quicken the pace of the
information technology construction of our army," said Jiang.
The decision carries great significance in that it will promote
China's army construction, accelerate the modernization drive of
the army, stimulate the national economic development and
contribute to the peace and development of the whole world, said
Jiang.
(Xinhua News Agency?September 1, 2003)?