BEIJING, Oct 19 (INP): President Xi Jinping announced that China will strive to make the just inaugurated 7th Military World Games of the International Military Sports Council an international gathering of peace.

It also aimed at encouraging military personnel to compete on a fair basis and enable diverse military cultures to develop exchanges and mutual learning, he said while meeting with leaders of defense departments of participating countries who attended the opening ceremony of the games in Wuhan, Hubei province. China Economic Net reported that a total of 9,308 military personnel from 109 countries will participate in a record 329 events across 27 competitions in the host city of Wuhan over the next ten days.

Xi told foreign guests that this year's event uses the slogan "Military Glory, World Peace" to express the hope that athletes of different countries fully display the sporting spirit of tenacity and use the power of sports to dispel the shadow of war, promote communication between different cultures and bring people together in peace.

He described the Chinese military as "an active participant, a positive promoter and an important contributor" to international military sports. Since it became a council member in 1978, the Chinese military has been actively working with other members to participate in the competitions, host the games and develop exchanges and cooperation, Xi added.

He added that the country's military is also willing to work with other countries' forces to cope with common threats and challenges in the security sector, make greater contributions to promoting world peace and advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xi expressed the hope that participants will see the games as a way to learn more about China and the Chinese military in the new era. He also welcomed participants to attend the 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a platform for Asia-Pacific security dialogue, to be held in the capital from Sunday to Tuesday, to build up consensus and contribute more wisdom to safeguarding world peace. The opening ceremony of the games took place at Wuhan Sports Center and began with a parade of delegations, a flag raising as well as oath-taking by representatives of athletes and referees.

This is the first time the games are being hosted by China. This multiday event has been organized by the council every four years since 1995.

The numbers of participating athletes and events are also the highest in the games' history, with many athletes being world champions or known entities in Olympic events, the report added. INP/J/LK