China will cut the number of its troops by 300,000 and China will never seek hegemony but protect the peace of the country and the world, President Xi Jinping said Thursday in his speech at the V-Day military parade as part of China's commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.[Special coverage]
Xi, also chairman of the Central Military Commission and general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on people to commemorate the hard-won peace after years of bloody war that inflicted heavy losses on China and other countries.
In honoring the Chinese who perished and those who contributed to the victory in the deadly conflict with Japan, the parade is a tribute to history and a call for peace, Xi said.
The war inflicted suffering not only on the Chinese people, but also on Japanese people, Xi said.
President Xi Jinping paid high tribute to all the veterans, comrades, patriots and officers in China who took part in the War of Resistance and all the Chinese at home and abroad who contributed significantly to the victory of the War.
Xi will inspect the troops afterwards.
