Jeffrey Kinkley is a history professor at St. John's University.
"The military parade itself of course conveyed an image of China's strength and modernization. President Xi Jinping's announcement he will be cutting the size of Chinese military by 300-thousand troops. This sends a message of peace I believe."
In his speech, Xi Jinping announced a reduction in the size of the Chinese military over the next 2 years.
It is the fourth time for China to announce military cuts since the Reform and Opening Up process first began in the early 1980s.
On Thursday, 50 formations including a total of 12-thousand troops took part in the Victory Day parade.
As many as 500 piece
