BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- It has been a big year for China's military.
In April, China's first domestically produced aircraft carrier was launched, which was followed by the debut of its new generation of destroyer in June. In July, the country's first aircraft carrier allowed visits by the public for the first time.
As the 90th birthday of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) approaches, the country's army has shown how much its military capacity has grown and how committed it is to maintaining world peace.
A STRONGER ARMY
The PLA has come a long way since its birth during the armed uprising in the city of Nanchang on August 1, 1927, when it had only 20,000 soldiers.
Ninety years later, the country boasts 2 million servicemen, making it the world's largest military force, according to a national defense white paper titled "China's Military Strategy," published in 2015.
Besides the growth in numbers, the PLA has armed its soldiers with world-class equipment.
During China's epic V-Day parade in September 2015, the country displayed its Dongfeng-5B intercontinental strategic missiles, designed to carry nuclear warheads, and its Dongfeng-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles, described by some media as the "carrier killer."
Other cutting-edge weaponry included the PLA's state-of-the-art tanks, unmanned aerial vehicles, and its new generation of airborne early warning and control aircraft, carrier-based fighters and attack helicopters that fly low across the sky.
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NOTE: The “Beijing to Slash Size of Chinese Army, Largest in the World, in Half” Link in the above was added by PacificSentinel for clarity & context.