Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced in Beijing on Saturday in his annual government work report to the National People's Congress that China will complete the task of trimming 200,000 military ranks this year.
   
"We will complete the task of reducing the size of the army by 200,000 troops," he told the approximately 3,000-member legislature. "We will improve the army's logistics to strengthen its support capability."
   
China announced in September 2003 to further cut its troops by 200,000 by the year 2005. The total number of its troops is maintained at 2.3 million, according to a white paper released recently.
   
Chinese military experts said China aims to improve the quality of its forces through reducing the size and improving the structure as the quality rather than quantity of troops decides the combat readiness of troops.
   
"In the times of cold weapons and industrial age, an overwhelming number of troops is necessary for victories of battle," said Teng Jianqun, a researcher with the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association. "But in the age of information, it is the quality of troops instead of quantity that counts, that is why major military powers of the world have downsized their troops over the past several years."
   
China previously streamlined the People's Liberation Army (PLA) nine times since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. Total ranks of the military were reduced from a record of 6.27 million in 1951 to 2.5 million in 2003.
   
According to the white paper released at the end of last year, the current trimming of troops is being realized through such measures as reducing the number of officers, reducing the number of offices and personnel both by about 15 percent.
   
China is also downsizing troops equipped with backward technology, the number of logistical organizations and personnel and military educational institutions while strengthening the Navy, Air Force and the Second Artillery Force, according to the white paper.
   
"I think the real aim of the current military streamlining is to improve China's combat readiness, to prepare for local war in the information age," Chen Zhou, a professor with the Chinese PLA Military Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua in an interview.
   
The professor predicted that China will continue to scale down its forces in the future as the road to build a high-quality army has been set.
   
"We have set to build a high-quality army suitable for war at information age, and this target is yet to be reached," Chen said. "I am sure China will continue to trim its troops."

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2005)