Xi asks Chinese army to be combat-ready

Calling for building a strong army, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday asked the world's largest military to be combat-ready.

Xi also stressed the importance of enhancing the military's political awareness, pushing forward reform, and governing it according to law, Xinhua news agecny reported.

China has the world's largest army. However, Xi, who heads the strong Central Military Commission, has decided to cull 300,000 members from the China's force of 2.3 million.

This, the government maintains, is being done to keep the army swift.

He underscored the importance of improving combat readiness through troop training.

The President made the comments while visiting the 65th Army Group stationed in northern China's Hebei province on Monday. Hebei is next to Beijing.

After Communist Party of China, the military is the strongest institution in the country.

--IANS

gsh/sac