China to hold largest-ever military parade on Oct. 1

China will hold the country’s largest-ever military parade on Oct. 1, marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the government said on Thursday.

The parade is set to be China’s largest in decades, said Cai Zhijun, Deputy Director of the Military Parade Leadership Office of the State Council.

So far, China’s largest military parade under communist rule was held in 2015 marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The parade involved more than 12,000 troops, more than 200 military aircraft and about 500 armoured vehicles.

All the military equipment to be displayed on Oct. 1 would be made in China, and the public was expected to see them for the first time, the State Council said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping would hold an “important speech,” it added.

Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949 after winning a civil war against the Nationalists, who retreated to Taiwan. (dpa/NAN)