President Hu Jintao has called for renewed efforts to promote the modernization of the army and national defense, as he visited soldiers in Beijing. He also sent his new year wishes to the soldiers and officers of the People's Liberation Army.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), talks with a soldier of Beijing Military Area Command in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 21, 2009. [Wang Jianmin/Xinhua]

Soldiers were the top priority of Hu Jintao's visit to the army. He met with female soldiers responsible for military communications. He hailed the soldiers' efforts to improve the army's quality of telecommunications, particularly their key role on communications during the relief work of the May 12th earthquake last year.

He encouraged the soldiers to contribute to the modernization of the country's military and national defense.

Hu Jintao also visited the control center of the army's telephone network that connects the border sentries across China. He sent new year wishes to a sentry at the western border of the country, using a live video phone. Soldiers there are at an altitude of more than five-thousand meters above sea level, and they use a self-made oxygen device to cope with the inclement environment. The outpost is also well-equipped with a telecommunications network that provides telephones and Internet access for soldiers.