Chinese embassy in Nepal celebrates PLA's 98th founding anniversary

The Chinese embassy in Nepal held a reception on Friday to celebrate the 98th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Bringing together over 300 guests, the event was attended by Chinese Ambassador Chen Song, Defense Attache Senior Colonel Lyu Guozheng, all diplomats of the embassy, as well as representatives from the Nepalese military, government, diplomatic corps, and military attaches accredited to Nepal.

In his remarks, Ambassador Chen underscored the importance of upholding international justice and learning from history to build a better future for all.

"Facing profound changes unseen in a century, we need to continue to stand on the side of international justice. We must learn from history, especially the hard lessons of the Second World War. We must draw wisdom and strength from the great victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, and resolutely resist all forms of hegemonism and power politics. We must work together to build a brighter future for humanity," he said.

Ashok Raj Sigdel, chief of army staff of the Nepalese Army, praised the cooperation between Chinese and Nepalese armed forces in peace keeping missions.

"Our (Chinese and Nepalese) troops proudly work together in many United Nations peacekeeping missions, contributing to global peace and stability. These interactions have not only helped us to learn from each other professionally, but also to foster a deeper understanding of each other's cultural and tradition," he said.

The reception also featured exhibition boards and screening of promotional videos to highlight Chinese military's contribution to global peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance.

Founded on Aug. 1, 1927, the PLA has served as China's principal military force, safeguarding the nation's sovereignty and contributing to international peace.

Since 1990, China has taken part in 25 United Nations peacekeeping operations and deployed over 50,000 personnel, the largest among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.