Xi calls for a smaller army that packs more punch

President Xi Jinping has called for a smaller army with better combat capability and optimized structure as military reform deepens.

Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission and head of a leading group for deepening reform on national defense and the armed forces, made the remarks at a two-day conference on military reform that ended on Saturday.

"This is a major, inevitable change," Xi told the meeting. "We must seize the opportunity and make breakthroughs."