China has taken second place at the halfway mark of the ongoing 2016 International Army Games in Russia and can win the competition with a victory in the tank biathlon that will see some of its best tank crews manning China's best tank, the Type-96B Main Battle Tank, in action against Russia's best.

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"According to the preliminary results, the Russian team, which is involved in different contests, is first. The team of the People's Liberation Army of China is second, and Kazakhstan's team is third. All the competitions have begun, and the contest is hot," said the competition's chief referee Dmitry Gorbatenko on Aug. 6.

The Chinese team consisting of soldiers from the People's Liberation Army Ground Forces took all the top three places in all the men's team competitions held so far. China also took first and second places in the women's teams.  The country is participating in 22 competitions.

Among the men, China took three first places in the dog handlers' contest and first place in the Military Medical Relay Race. China has also taken the first and second places in the Medical Relay Race.

The International Army Games are being held from July 30 to August 13 at 20 training grounds of the Russian Army at the Western, Southern and Central military districts from Siberia to Kaliningrad in the west and from St. Petersburg to Sevastopol in Crimea.

Some 20 Chinese military vehicles consisting of five Type-96Bs, armored personnel carriers and assault boats are now in Russia to participate in the Army Games. This is the first time the Type-96B has been seen in public outside of China.

The Type-96Bs will do battle in the Masters of Automobile and Tank Hardware competition, also called the "Tank Biathlon," where teams of tanks will rush through a tough obstacle course. The team wih the highest score wins. The Type-96B will compete against Russia's T-72 MBT.

China also joined the war games held in 2014 and 2015. The latter drew 2,000 participants from 17 countries grouped into 57 teams.

In 2014, China won third place with its Type-96A and second place in 2015, also with the Type-96A. China is confident it will win first place this year with the much improved Type-96B.

Tagschina, 2016 International Army Games, Russia, Type-96B Main Battle Tank