The Ministry of National Defense (MND) will launch an official bilingual website on Aug 1.
The move, military experts say, is a leap forward for the Chinese army, which is attempting to be more transparent and focus more on "public diplomacy".
The launch of the site, in Chinese and in English, is meant to allow more access to the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Senior Colonel Huang Xueping, deputy director-general of the MND's information office, said yesterday that the website will operate on a trial basis. The start date marks the 82nd anniversary of the founding of the 2.3-million-strong PLA.
Access to the PLA has been limited to tightly controlled reports that have appeared in a handful of media organizations.
Analysts and web users have hoped that a portal similar to the US Pentagon's "Defense Link" would be established so that regular information could be disseminated about China's effort to modernize its army.
"The launch of the MND website is a major step for the PLA to open up to the outside world," said Huang, in an exclusive interview with China Daily.
"As the Chinese army develops, the army has valued diplomacy with foreign militaries and has paid great attention to informing the public of China's defense policies and troop images through the platform we established."
