Hu inherited the role of chairman of the Central Military Commission -- arguably China' most powerful position -- when former president Jiang Zemin, 78, resigned Sunday.

It puts him in charge of the 2.5 million strong People's Liberation Army and a powerful nuclear deterrent.

The commission also includes military stalwarts Guo Boxiong, Cao Gangchuan, and newly appointed Xu Caihou as vice chairmen, and seven other members.

In another apparent victory for Hu, Vice President Zeng Qinghong, a protege of Jiang, failed to be named as a commission vice chairman or as a member as had been widely expected.

China's military is an aberration of modern day politics. It is not administered by a civilian government but by the ruling Communist Party which still follows the famous diktat of revolutionary Mao Zedong that "political power comes from the barrel of the gun".

According to military analysts, China is slowly modernizing its strategic nuclear forces but still has the least advanced nuclear arsenal of the declared nuclear states.

China currently has the capability to strike US cities with a force of approximately 20 long-range Dong Feng-5 missiles, each armed with a single 4- to 5-megaton warhead, they say.

It also has some 80 to 100 other missiles that could strike targets in Europe and Asia.

China's air strike ability is also significant.

In its annual report to Congress on Chinese military power, the United States this year said China had nearly 3,400 aircraft, and its share of fourth-generation planes, mainly Su-27 and Su-30 fighter-bombers purchased from Russia, was increasing steadily,

Military-based websites say China has some 14,000 tanks, 14,500 artillery pieces and 453 military helicopters, along with 63 submarines, 18 destroyers and 35 frigates.

While China has sought to dispel the concerns of the United States and its neighbours about its military build-up, countries like Japan are becoming increasingly concerned.

Tokyo is actively seeking to build a ballistic missile defense that is partially seen as a response to Beijing's increasingly capable ballistic missile force.

The United States routinely expresses concern over a missile build-up on China's southeastern coast facing Taiwan which could be used as a first-strike force in the eventual reunification of the disputed island territory.

Beijing's arsenal arrayed against Taiwan includes approximately 500 short-range ballistic missiles, according to US estimates.

The annual report to Congress said Beijing was annually adding 75 short-range missiles across from Taiwan and was acquiring or developing weapons and tactics aimed at countering technologically superior US forces.

In one of his last orders before stepping down Jiang last month urged the further modernisation of China's weapons arsenal.

"Building up military equipment is an urgent task of military combat preparations and is an important strategic task for the country's peace and stability," he was quoted as saying by the People's Daily last month.

China boosted its military spending by 11.6 percent this year to 25 billion dollars as part if its efforts to modernize and outfit its military with high-tech weaponry.

But when off-budget funding for foreign weapons systems imports is included, total defense-related expenditures should soar to between 50 and 70 billion dollars annually, US deputy undersecretary of defence Richard Lawless said earlier this year.

This would rank China third in defense spending after the United States and Russia.

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