China's People Liberation Army buckles down to practicing for a big spectacle of military power in September, when the army puts new locally developed arms on display, sources tell Reuters.

The parade is the first in several planned military exhibitions under President Xi Jinping, as a warning against Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who seeks to change the country's pacifist constitution that bars the deployment of Japanese troops abroad.

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An unidentified military source said army displays would be the "new normal" during the two five-year terms of President Xi under his policy of "xin changtai", which means moderating China's economic growth targets.

The planned parades are a departure from the practice of previous presidents, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, who only led military spectacles in 2009 and 1999 respectively to mark the anniversary of the 1949 founding of the People's Republic.

The military shows are also expected to affirm that Xi has the army's total support amid a campaign against corruption in the military that has netted top brass, reports Reuters.

People's Liberation Army generals are expected to salute Xi as military commander during the parade that will be aired across China.

The first military exhibition, scheduled on Sept. 3 in the capital Beijing, will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the conclusion of World War Two. The parade is President Xi's first public display of power since his rise as secretary general of China's Communist Party and military commander three years ago. He has ruled as state president since 2013.

Chinese forces are covertly training in camps outside Beijing for the parade, but sources offered no details on the arms that will be shown for the first time. China is developing advanced weapons such as stealth fighter planes, anti-aircraft carrier and anti-satellite weaponry.

A military top brass source did say the former president of the Chinese National Defense University, Lieutenant-General Song Puxuan, would supervise the September parade.