Chinese military delegation to pay 5-day visit to Mexico

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Chinese military delegation will pay a five-day trip to Mexico this week, Beijing said on Monday.

In a statement, the Chinese Defense Ministry said the delegation of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will visit the North American country from Wednesday to Sunday.

The visit came at the invitation of the Mexican Defense Ministry to attend the celebration of the 213th anniversary of Mexico's independence, it said.

Mexico will mark its Independence Day on Saturday.

The Chinese delegation will also participate in the celebration parade, the statement added.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Mexico comprehensive strategic partnership.

Separately, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “comprehensively enhancing the troops' combat readiness.”

He made the remarks during an inspection of the 78th Group Army based in Harbin, the capital of northeastern Heilongjiang province on Friday.

Xi called for efforts to “improve the level of combat preparedness, strengthen the training of key and difficult subjects, and build new combat capabilities.”