China demonstrates its military might with war parade, as observers say President Xi Jinping plans to boost PLA's combat ability
Impressive display of weaponry at parade is China's way of telling the world it is confident of defending itself effectively in any armed conflict
Generals marching ahead of their troops on Thursday - a departure from previous practice at China's military parades - demonstrated President Xi Jinping's resolve to rejuvenate an army plagued by corruption and complacency.
At previous parades, the top brass always viewed the displays from a comfortable distance, but at yesterday's ceremony to mark the 70th year since the end of the second world war, 50 generals joined the 12,000 troops in 50 formations for an inspection by Xi, who is also head of the powerful Central Military Commission.
Observers saw the massive parade - coordinated by General Song Puxuan, commander of the Beijing Military Command, and Lieutenant Wang Jian, deputy political commissar of the Beijing Military Region - as an indication of Xi's plan to boost the People's Liberation Army's combat ability.
Air force lieutenant Zheng Qunliang headed the leading plane formation, while the weaponry display was led by five lieutenant generals from the Beijing Military Command, the navy, air force, second artillery corps and the paramilitary police. Other major generals led their troops in the march at Tiananmen Square.
"It is believed many major generals in the army have poor stamina and discipline," Beijing-based military commentator Wu Ge said. Including the commanders in the parade showed they were good models for their subordinates, he said.
