First Ever Army Day Parade Kicks Off in China, President Xi Inspects Troops

The first ever military parade commemorating the Army Day kicked off on Sunday in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region with President Xi Jinping personally inspecting the troops, local media reported.

MOSCOW, July 30 (Sputnik) — During the Parade, President Xi Jinping said that the country needed the strong army more than ever before, according to the media reports.

The parade, which takes place at the Zhurihe military base, marks the 90th anniversary of founding the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which formally falls on August 1, the Xinhua news agency reported.

President Xi standing in an open-roof jeep reviewed the troops. According to Xinhua, Xi has never inspected such a large-scale military parade.

The PLA was founded on August 1, 1927, during the Nanchang uprising against then-ruling Kuomintang party. The later civil war resulted in founding the People's Republic of China in the mainland China on October 1, 1949.