Speculation on 800,000 to be cut from army untrue: PLA

A spokesperson of China's Ministry of National Defense on Thursday said many reports related to China' national defense and military reform are mere speculation and called for the outside world not to overly interpret them.

Yang Yujun, a spokesperson for the ministry, made the remarks in response to a reporter asking if the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is to cut 800,000 military personnel to promote the modernization of national defense and the military, during a monthly media briefing.

The speculation is actually about reforming China's military and national defense system, said Yang.

Yang noted that the reform is a systematic project that needs overall planning and a steady push. Currently, related military departments are researching major issues concerned with the reform, he said, without revealing further details.

According to a defense white paper published in April 2013 by the ministry, China has a total of 2.3 million military personnel.

According to the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on major issues of deepening reform issued in November 2013, the scale and structure of the PLA should be modernized by cutting the number of non-combat personnel in the military.