The military cuts President Xi Jinping announced on Thursday will mainly target "troops equipped with outdated armaments, administrative staff and noncombatant personnel", Ministry of National Defense spokesman Yang Yujun said at a news conference. The decision to cut 300,000 troops will be the country's fourth such major reduction since the 1980s.
9月3日，國家主席習近平宣布裁減軍隊員額30萬。國防部新聞發言人楊宇軍在新聞發布會上表示，這次裁減軍隊員額，重點是“壓減老舊裝備部隊，精簡機關和非戰斗機構人員”。這將是上世紀80年代以來第四次大規模裁軍。

Since the 1980s, China has reduced the size of its military in three stages - by 1 million, 500,000 and 200,000 personnel. There are currently 2.3 million members. The reduction will be completed by the end of 2017 in order to optimize the structure of Chinese forces, Yang said.
上世紀80年代以來，中國先后裁減軍隊員額100萬、50萬、20萬，中國軍隊現有總員額230萬。楊宇軍表示，這次裁減軍隊員額將于2017年年底基本完成，旨在調整優化軍隊結構。

Xi's announcement "fully demonstrates China's sincerity and hope in jointly championing peace, seeking development and enjoying prosperity with various countries in the world", Yang said. The decision also shows the country's "proactive, responsible attitude toward advancing international arms control and disarmament", the spokesman added.
楊宇軍表示，習主席宣布我國將裁減軍隊員額30萬，“充分彰顯我國同世界各國一道共護和平、共謀發展、共享繁榮的誠意和愿望。也展示我國推動國際軍控和裁軍的積極的負責任的態度。”

Asked if the announcement signifies the start of a new round of national defense and military reform, Yang said China "will come up with some new reform measures and proactively and steadily press ahead with reform of national defense and the military".
當被問及宣布裁軍是否意味著新一輪國防和軍隊改革，楊宇軍回應稱，中國“還將相繼推出一些新的改革舉措，積極穩妥推進國防和軍隊改革?！?/p>

Some countries and recent media reports have again raised questions over the size of the People's Liberation Army, the world's largest. Yang said that comments made about China's alleged threat "run counter to the facts and are irresponsible".
有的國家、近日媒體報道再次質疑中國擁有世界上最大規模的軍隊，對此，楊宇軍回應稱，有些言論故意渲染“中國威脅”，這是“違背客觀事實，也是不負責任的?！?/p>

The country is still undertaking demanding tasks in championing national unification, securing state sovereignty and ensuring its development and interests, he said. The PLA undertakes noncombatant actions and missions such as disaster relief, international peacekeeping, and search and rescue work. China is also faced with threats posed by regional terrorism, separatism and extremism, he added. "Therefore, our military needs to maintain a certain scale, which is totally for defense purposes," he said, adding that China never sought, nor seeks, hegemony and expansion.
楊宇軍還表示，我國仍然面臨著維護國家統一、維護國家主權、維護發展利益的艱巨任務。我軍還承擔搶險救災、國際維和、國際救援等非戰爭軍事行動任務。我國還要應對地區恐怖主義、分裂主義、極端主義活動威脅。“因此，我軍需要保持一定規模，這完全是出于防御目的?！睏钣钴娺€表示，中國永遠不稱霸，永遠不搞擴張。

Yang also said the defense budget needs to maintain a certain scale, as the overall level of China's arms and equipment "is comparatively lagging behind".
楊宇軍還表示，由于我國武器裝備總體水平“比較落后”，國防預算需要保持適當規模。

Vocabulary
noncombatant: 非戰斗人員
proactive: 積極行動的
disarmament: 裁軍
signify: 表示，意味著

英文來源：中國日報
譯者&編輯：許晶晶