Continued attention

Xi's attention on the Navy can be traced to his first days as the Party's top leader in late 2012.

On Dec 8, 2012, less than a month after Xi was elected top leader of the Party and the military, he boarded a destroyer that took him to the South China Sea. It was his first inspection of a PLA unit as Central Military Commission chairman.

In the next nine months, Xi made two visits to Navy units, boarding new naval vessels such as a new-generation nuclear-powered submarine and the aircraft carrier CNS Liaoning.

In his latest speech on the Navy, given at a grand sea parade last month, Xi reiterated that the Navy must race against time and spare no efforts to become a world-class force because the country needs a strong navy, stressing that it is an essential pillar to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Addressing over 10,000 Navy personnel from a giant combat ship in the parade, Xi asked members of the service to uphold the Party's leadership, deepen military reform, enhance innovation in science and technology, develop new types of fighting forces, build modern naval warfare systems and improve the capability to undertake diversified military operations.

Xi ordered the Navy to continue to focus on combat training and stay on high alert to safeguard the national interests and make more contributions to the peace and stability of the region and the world.