The first batch of 40,000 People's Liberation Army and paramilitary troops will start withdrawing from the quake-hit areas today as the focus shifts from rescue and relief to reconstruction.

President Hu Jintao signed an order that all military and paramilitary units from other regions should withdraw to their posts in batches, the official website of the Chinese government said yesterday.

By June 11, there were about 130,000 military and paramilitary troops in the quake-hit Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi provinces.

(China Daily July 21, 2008)