MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti) – China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) hosted its seventh annual open day at the Academy of Armored Forces Engineering in a southern Beijing suburb that featured dancing robots, cadets and military hardware.
“You can see the future of the Chinese Army in them,” Bloomberg quoted Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Yang Yujun as saying while watching the cadets. “They have mastered knowledge of advanced technology and they are going to be the officers of the Chinese Army.”
During the event one could observe cadets climbing walls, little robots dancing in sync to music, and the demonstration of the military hardware in possession of the Chinese Army.
According to Bloomberg, the PLA currently focuses on improving the quality of its recruits and the training they receive, which is why students at the academy hosting the open day will get a college education. These plans go in line with China’s increased expenses on the military that now stand at about $130 billion.
This military showcase is China’s attempt to soften the blow it had suffered because of corruption scandals, the latest of which being linked to Xu Caihou, a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, who was expelled from the Communist Party for bribery.
The Chinese Army is the world’s largest, with 2.3 million soldiers.
