Chinese navy sails onto world stage

Source: Xinhua | 04-21-2009 21:45

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) was making final preparations for Thursday's international fleet parade in the eastern port of Qingdao to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its founding.

The parade will feature 21 navy ships from other countries.

Zhang Xiaolin, a professor at the Strategic Research Institute under the Nanjing-based Navy Command College, said the parade was set to open an extraordinary chapter in the PLAN's foreign relations, and the PLAN was stepping up efforts to engage the international community.

Major-General Zhang Shiping, a researcher with the PLA's Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing, agreed.

He said inviting foreign navies to China is a process of communication and exchange.

"More importantly, it lays the foundations for future cooperation and exchange with foreign navies," said Zhang Shiping.