The 60th anniversary parade of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was held on October 1, 2009 at Tiananmen (Heavenly Peace) Square in Beijing. About 10,000 soldiers and many of the most modern weapons of the Chinese armed forces took part in it. The parade was received by Hu Jintao, the then leader of communist China. The parade was preceded by special and extensive preparations and special protection of the Chinese police and other uniformed services was given over it. It is estimated that the parade was watched by approximately 30,000 people and millions of PRC citizens in front of televisions. The parade was probably reported by around 1,300 journalists from over 100 countries around the world, and its cost was estimated at around USD 45 million. It is worth noting that many types of weapons of the Chinese armed forces were presented, including: ZTZ-99 tanks, ZBD-2000 amphibious vehicles, ZBD-97 IFVs and Type 05 self-propelled howitzers. It is assumed that the parade was a show of growing military forces and aspirations political PRC. It was also a demonstration of the efficiency of the Chinese armed forces.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army, or the Chinese armed forces, is currently the third military force in the world, which has approximately 2 million people under arms, and at the time of mobilization its strength may increase to approximately 7 million people. It is worth adding that from the moment of its inception until the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, the military doctrine of these armed forces, when it comes to war on land, was based on a mass army composed of rather poorly trained recruits and assumed participation in a full-scale conflict. . However, from the beginning of the 1980s, there was an emphasis on better training of soldiers and providing them with equipment that was less and less different from that used in Western armies. The main component of the Chinese land forces is still infantry - primarily motorized and mechanized. It is assumed that approximately 40% of the People's Liberation Army's divisions and brigades are now mechanized or armored, which is a significant leap compared to the forces from the 1990s. The number of infantry divisions in the Chinese army can be estimated at 80-85 units - however, these are only estimates. Although many Chinese infantry units still use Soviet-made equipment, from around 2000, a rapid modernization process can be observed, which led to the introduction of, among others, Type 92A wheeled armored personnel carriers or Type 11 fire support vehicles. QBZ-95 motorized and mechanized infantry units.