The Special Forces of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was not formed until 1988 and still exists today. The size of the Chinese special forces raises many doubts, but it is estimated that they number from about 6,000 to about 15,000 people. However, these are only estimates. Chinese special forces are perceived as rapid reaction forces, intended to carry out intelligence tasks, long-distance strategic reconnaissance, but also broadly understood anti-terrorist activities. It is possible that they are also currently trained to wage a limited local war. It is worth adding that for many years after the establishment of the PRC in 1949, special forces were perceived as irrelevant in the country's military doctrine. Only the change in the military doctrine at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, combined with the experience of minor conflicts with Vietnam at the same time, led to a change in the perception of special forces in the People's Liberation Army. It is assumed that the first official mission carried out by Chinese special forces was to protect units against Somali pirates at the end of December 2008.
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.