6 experts from foreign air forces, including Group Captain Stephen Fox, deputy assistant chief of staff of the command of the British Royal Air Force, gave lectures at the collective training session of the Air Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in succession on January 19.

　　The foreign experts came from the UK, Germany, Turkey and Pakistan. Their lectures covered such contents as the development trend of the air force in the 21st century and the system and organization as well as the education and training model of their respective air forces. At the main venue in Beijing and 319 sub-venues outside Beijing, more than 10,000 officers holding general and colonel ranks attended the lectures with great interest.

　　In recent years, the PLA Air Force stepped up efforts to strengthen the high-level and pragmatic exchanges with the foreign counterparts. In early 2009, the PLA invited 7 air force experts from such countries as Russia, the UK, Germany, ROK and Pakistan to Beijing to give lectures, evoking strong repercussions.

　　In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PLA Air Force, the PLA Air Force organized the “International Symposium on Peace and Development” themed on “Transcendence, Prospect and Cooperation” where representatives from more than 30 countries exchanged the ideas and experience regarding the air forces of different countries.

　　According to relevant leader of the PLA Air Force, the purpose of constantly strengthening the exchanges with the air forces of different countries is to guide the officers and men to be well aware of the gap in the construction concept, standard and model between the PLA Air Force and its foreign counterparts, to broaden horizon and push forward the strategic transformation of the PLA Air Force at a higher level.

　　By Yu Chunguang and Li Guowen