President Xi Jinping on January 18th inspected the combat readiness of the armed forces via video link ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year as per a China Military online report.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extended festive greetings to service personnel of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force, civilian personnel posted in the military, and members of militia and reserve forces as per China Military online.
Xi attaches great importance to the military's combat readiness. At about 4:30 p.m., he spoke with soldiers from several troops undertaking border defense, coastal defense, air defense, stability maintenance and emergency response duties via video link said the report.
During the video calls, Xi asked soldiers at a border defense station in Khunjerab, under the Xinjiang military command, about their border patrol and management work. Xi hailed the soldiers as models of border defence and encouraged them to persist in their efforts and make new contributions.
The Kunjerab Pass is the highest pass on the strategic highway that links China Pakistan Economic Corridor known as the Karakoram Highway.
Importantly Xi this time has not addressed troops deployed on the India China Border as he had done so in the past few times.
When speaking with soldiers from a patrolling Chinese navy formation, Xi inquired about their emergency response readiness.
After hearing about the routine air defense combat readiness duties of soldiers in an air force aviation brigade, Xi ordered them to remain alert and be ready for combat, and to raise their vigilance level during the Spring Festival to maintain airspace security.
Xi also spoke with soldiers from the Falcon Commando Unit under the armed police force, a core anti-terrorism unit at the national level. He inquired about their special operations skills training. He urged the soldiers to make strenuous efforts to enhance their competence and perform their duties as loyal guardians as per the China Military Online report.
After his virtual talks with the soldiers, Xi said he fully recognized the troops' combat readiness.
Xi called on the military to fulfill their combat readiness duties and safeguard national security and social stability, so as to ensure that all Chinese people are able to have a happy and safe Spring Festival as per the China Military Online report.