Xi stresses structural reform of military

President Xi Jinping speaks at a meeting on reforming the armed forces in Beijing Nov 26, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has requested breakthroughs in reform of the country's armed forces by 2020, vowing to reorganize the current military administration structure and military command areas.

Xi, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a meeting on reforming the armed forces which was held from Nov. 24 to 26.

An overall structure should be formed to empower the Central Military Commission to be in charge of both administration and command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). It will create battle command zones to focus on combat. Different services commanders will be expected to focus on development of their respective services, Xi said.

The structural reform aims to better integrate the command over the PLA, Xi said.