China bestows highest military award on ten honorees

China gave 10 military officials the Order of August 1 (Bayi), the highest military award, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

The order was signed by Chinese president Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the CPC central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), ahead of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

A list of the 10 people from the PLA, the armed police force and public security force being honored was made public on Friday.

Chinese astronaut Jing Haipeng, commander of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft, is among the honorees.

Approved by the Central Military Commission on June 12, the Order of August 1 will be awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions to safeguarding the country's sovereignty, security and development interests, and advancing the modernization of national defense and the armed forces.