BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- New People's Liberation Army (PLA) forces have promised to contribute to the Chinese dream of a strong military.
Chinese President Xi Jinping conferred military flags on the general command for the Army of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the PLA Rocket Force and the PLA Strategic Support Force at an inauguration ceremony held Thursday in Beijing.
Officers and soldiers of the three forces will study Xi's instructions made at the ceremony, saying the move is a major decision by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Central Military Commission (CMC) to deepen reforms in national defense and the military.
The troops will follow the direction of the CPC Central Committee, the CMC and Xi, be absolutely "loyal, pure and reliable" to them, and firmly uphold the Party's absolute leadership over the army.
Officers and soldiers of the PLA Rocket Force vowed to understand their roles and tasks, and follow the requirement of maintaining both conventional and nuclear weaponry and improve the ability to deter and strike across the entire defense area.
The force also pledged to enhance nuclear deterrence and counter-strike capacity which is credible and reliable, medium- and long-range precision strike ability, as well as strategic check-and-balance capacity to build a strong and modern Rocket Force.
The PLA Army which is the oldest force led and founded by the CPC, said they will optimize its structure and composition, and expedite its transformation from a large troop to a powerful modern force.
The PLA Strategic Support Force vowed to speed up the development of new-type combat forces and build into a powerful modern force with Chinese characteristics.
