Seventy-one military attaches with 57 foreign embassies to China on Friday attended a briefing on the political work of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The briefing is the 8th organized by the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the Chinese Defense Ministry this year to help foreign military officers gain better knowledge of the PLA.

Zhang Gongxian, a major general and the vice secretary-general of the General Political Department (GPD) of the PLA chaired the briefing and elaborated on the duties of the GPD and the structures of the political organs in the PLA.

Foreign military attaches raised questions on the relationship between the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the PLA, the requirements and the selection of qualified political or military commanders.

Military attaches from Austria, New Zealand and Bangladesh said the briefing expanded their knowledge of the PLA and was conducive to enhancing communication and cooperation between Chinese and foreign armed forces.

Other briefings organized in 2006 have covered the topics of China's foreign policy, security policy, national defense science and technology industry, aircraft maintenance, import and export of aviation technologies, the security preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the reserve military units.

The Foreign Affairs Bureau of the Chinese Defense Ministry said the briefings were aimed at deepening the foreign military attaches' understanding of the national and military conditions of China.

(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2006)