The comments by Liang Guanglie came in an interview published by Xinhua news agency 10 days before China is set to roll out a range of advanced weaponry in a National Day military parade.

"Our capabilities in waging defensive combat under modern conditions have taken a quantum leap," Liang was quoted as saying.

Liang rattled off a list of achievements in military technology and hardware by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) including military-use satellites, advance aircraft, tanks, artillery and missiles.

"It could be said that China has basically all the kinds of equipment possessed by Western countries, much of which reaches or approaches advanced world standards.

"This is a very remarkable achievement which not only reflects the level of modernisation of our army, but also tremendous changes in national science and technology strength."

Chinese media said earlier this month that "52 types" of new homegrown weapons would debut during the October 1 parade, and recent rehearsals through the capital have offered glimpses of the hardware, notably an array of powerful missiles.

"It is no exaggeration to say that our army has a strong combat capability," Liang said.

China has poured money into its armed forces in recent years in a bid to transform the once-backward PLA into a lean, professional and high-tech fighting force.

China's military spending rose 15.3 percent in 2009 to 69 billion dollars, according to a budget submitted to parliament in March, the latest in a string of double-digit increases.

Amid growing concern overseas about China's military intentions, Beijing stresses the defensive nature of its armed forces.

earlier related report
Obama makes UN debut amid diplomatic flurry
US President Barack Obama makes his UN debut this week as world leaders gather for a whirlwind of talks on climate change, the Middle East, nuclear non-proliferation and the financial crisis.

But with a range of burning issues at the top of agenda for Obama and more than 120 heads of state and government, officials were already less than optimistic of any major breakthroughs out of this week's political pow-wows.

All eyes will be on the US leader Tuesday as he attends a climate change summit hosted by UN chief Ban Ki-moon to galvanize political will on reducing greenhouse gas emissions before key December talks in Copenhagen.

"I confess that I am very worried by the prospects for Copenhagen. The negotiations are dangerously close to deadlock at the moment," EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso told a think-tank in New York on Monday.

Also on Tuesday Obama will hold his first three-way summit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to try to nudge them into resuming deadlocked Middle East peace talks.

But Israeli and Palestinian officials are cautioning not to expect a breakthrough after weeks of shuttle diplomacy by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell failed to narrow wide differences on the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

And the White House Monday also added its own voice of caution.

"We have no grand expectations out of just one meeting," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Air Force One as Obama headed to New York state.

Wednesday, as the 192-member UN General Assembly kicks off its annual debate, Obama will deliver an eagerly-awaited maiden speech in which he is expected to pledge anew to work closely with the world body.

Also highly anticipated, is a speech by Libyan President Moamer Kadhafi making his first ever trip to the United Nations during his four decades in power.

He will speak immediately after Obama, with US officials hoping he will steer clear of the controversy over the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, a former Libyan spy.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has pledged to champion the cause of emerging democracies, China's Hu Jintao and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, under fire for his country's suspect nuclear program, will also step up to the podium on Wednesday.

Also speaking will be ousted Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya, kicked out in a June coup, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and France's Nicolas Sarkozy.

The issue of nuclear non-proliferation will be the main focus of Thursday's events with Obama to chair an unprecedented summit in the UN Security Council.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Obama would use the meeting to "emphasize the importance of strengthening the international nuclear non-proliferation regime."

The summit will come just a week before the five Security Council permanent members -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- plus Germany are due to meet Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili on October 1.

Western nations are pressing Iran to halt its uranium enrichment drive which they suspect is aimed at making nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies the charges and says its nuclear program is solely geared toward generating electricity.

Ahmadinejad's office said the Iranian leader would head Tuesday to the United Nations with a message of peace.

"His main message is to have peace and friendship with all nations based on justice and mutual respect," Mohammad Jaffar Mohammad Zadeh, information officer said, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

Ban will meanwhile Thursday hold a ministerial session with his partners in the Middle East peace Quartet, which groups the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union.

And the same day Pakistani leader Asif Ali Zardari is to huddle with Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the so-called Friends of Pakistan for talks on how international donors can best assist the democratically elected government in Islamabad.

Obama and several of his peers will then trek to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for a two-day summit beginning Thursday of the Group of 20 developed and developing economies aimed at tightening financial regulations a year after the global economic crisis erupted.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News