The training show is the largest of its kind since 1965, when the PLA carried out a large-scaled contest on military training. The show also displays that the Chinese armed forces are becoming more capable of winning in future warfare, according to military experts.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), watched the show and met with officers and soldiers who took part in the show.

According to military sources, the training show comprises three parts: field activities, theoretical exchanges and on-line training, which were carried out in the suburbs of Beijing, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a training site in the northeast China and the Bohai Sea.

Chinese troops used to focus their training on attacking on tanks, planes and paratroops and defending against attacks by nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

These days, troops are proving their new capabilities on attacking on enemy's stealth aircraft, cruise missile and armed helicopters, as well as defending against precise striking, electronic interference and detecting surveillance.

Among the 56 theoretical programs to be on display, many involve issues related to modern wars under hi-tech circumstances, the sources said.

The Chinese PLA University of National Defense has directed the on-line programs, which were participated by different army units, bases and academies from the Land Army, the Navy and Air Forces as well as the Second Artillery Force through the intranet of the armed forces.

A person-in-charge of the relevant department of the PLA Headquarters of the General Staffs told Xinhua that the training campaign is expected to promote the country's preparations for military missions in the new period and improve the army's combating capabilities as a whole.

(Xinhua 10/17/2000)