Before Massive Military Parade, President Xi Jinping Announces Troop Levels Will Be Cut By 300,000(photos)

Just before, the much ballyhooed and completely massive military parade held in Beijing earlier today to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Chinese President Xi Jinping non-ironically announced that he would be cutting troop levels by 300,000.

That number would cut the world's largest military, currently standing at 2.3 million, by 13 percent.

"Prejudice and discrimination, hatred and war can only cause disaster and pain," Xi addressed the nation just before thousands of tanks and soldiers marched by Tiananmen Square. "China will always uphold the path of peaceful development."

The Defense Ministry later confirmed that the cuts would be mostly complete by the end of 2017. This follows with China's long-term plan of cutting troop size and focusing instead on spending more to develop high-tech weapons for their air force and navy. Troop numbers have already been cut three times already since the 1980s, according to Reuters.

So, will this be the last parade to march through Beijing and overwhelm us with sheer force of numbers?

No.

But the question becomes, who is going to get cut?

Surely not these lovely ladies?

This dude seems like he's yawning, not singing. CUT!

Luckily for them, you can never have too many sousaphones.