Chinese President Hu Jintao stressed Wednesday the loyalty of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"To follow the CPC's command is the overriding political requirement that the Party and Chinese people have placed on the PLA and is the unshakable and fundamental principle for the PLA," said Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).

Hu made the remarks in his speech delivered at the grand rally held in Beijing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

On Aug. 1, 1927, CPC-led armed forces held an uprising in Nanchang, now capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, which is regarded as the founding day for the PLA.

"In these 80 years, the PLA has fostered its fine revolutionary traditions," he said, stressing "the traditions, in essence, mean that the PLA is forever at the CPC's command and the service of the people and should be courageous and skillful at war fighting."

"The noble spirit that the PLA has nurtured over the years is to adhere to the absolute leadership of the Party," he said.

"Only by putting itself under the CPC leadership has the PLA been able to stay on the right course politically and maintained its strong cohesion and combat effectiveness as well as its vigor and vitality," he said.

This year, a series of official programs are held nationwide to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Army's Day, including the grand rally opened at 10:00 AM Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People.

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2007)