The People's Liberation Army (PLA), the armed forces of the Communist Party of China (CPC), is willing to work with other countries to solve security issues and contribute to world peace and mutual development, a senior military officer said on Monday night.

The statement was made by Rear Admiral Guan Youfei, director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Central Military Commission (CMC), before 240 foreign military attaches from over 80 countries who gathered in Beijing for the annual Chinese New Year banquet hosted by China's Ministry of Defense.

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Admiral Guan said the PLA will push forward reforms this year to strengthen its capabilities; increase overall defense and military construction and take a large step toward building "a strong military with Chinese characteristics."

He said peace and development remain the mainstream trend of our time, despite challenges and conflicts in the world.

"We, the militaries, need to answer the call of the time and enhance mutual trust and cooperation," said Admiral Guan. "We also need to cultivate a new type of international relations based on win-win cooperation."

Major General Slawomir Kaluzinski, Deputy Commander and Chief of Training of the Polish Air Force,  gave a speech on behalf the attending military attaches and said China is a global power that can achieve breakthroughs in promoting world peace.

He called for joint efforts to promote friendly military-military relations between China and other nations.

In late November 2016, the PLA launched what it termed a "long march of deepening military reform" aimed at giving it professional parity with the United States Armed Forces over the next decades.

PLA said it had undertaken "a fresh start" in the history of the PLA, whose and was committed "to building a strong military has become stronger."

The PLA is manned overwhelmingly by poorly-motivated and poorly-educated conscripts. In contrast, the U.S. armed forces is a professional all-volunteer force that has been in continuous combat since the turn of the century.

One of the more important PLA websites described China as entering "a key stage of transforming itself from a big country into a strong power, which calls for greater courage in advancing military reform."

TagsPeople's Liberation Army, PLA, Communist Party of China, Rear Admiral Guan Youfei, Central Military Commission, Major General Slawomir Kaluzinski, Chinese New Year