News / Interviews

China seeks role in settling intl. disputes: Commentator

Thursday, 03 September 2015 2:56 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 03 September 2015 2:56 PM ]

Chinese soldiers march during a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on September 3, 2015, to mark the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II. (©AFP)

Press TV has conducted an interview with Paul James, a host of the China Radio International from Beijing, to ask for his insight on China’s decision to reduce its military personnel numbers by 300,000.

Following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Talk to us about the commemorations taking place in China. Many believe that the scope of the parade and what was put on display was, in a way, a message to the United States, which has been recently taking side in some of the territorial disputes in the region.

James: It is very interesting the dynamic of how the Chinese side put this out. The Chinese government has been planning this for a very long. This is one of the … pieces of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s new administration… But what was very interesting was the fact that he delivered a message to the United States by saying that ‘we are going to cut troops by 300,000,’ which in retrospect is not a huge amount given the large amount of Chinese troops that are available. It is a message, theoretically, to the rest of the world that China wants to be able to be a nice partner, to be able to work with people and countries when it comes to disputes.

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