BEIJING - CHINA will mark the 60th anniversary of communist rule this year with a frugal military parade as the global financial crisis takes its toll on the country's economy, state media reported.

Colonel Cai Huailie of the People's Liberation Army's operations department told the official Xinhua news agency that a planned parade on Tiananmen Square will be conducted 'in an economical way.' Xinhua said the cost of the parade - to be held on Oct 1 to mark the founding of communist China in 1949 - would be around 300 million yuan (S$66.4 million).

The parade will see soldiers, tanks and missiles march down Beijing's Avenue of Heavenly Peace, before gathering in front of the huge portrait of revolutionary Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Square.

China has promised that this year's event will showcase new weapons and equipment that have not been shown to the public since 1999, when the last military march was held for the 50th anniversary, Xinhua said.

But concerns have arisen over the cost of hosting such a huge event as the country suffers the effects of a serious economic downturn, the agency reported.

The 1999 parade involved more than 11,000 military staff, 400 combat vehicles and 132 aircraft, and the servicemen trained for the synchronised marches for 10 months, Xinhua said.

The defence ministry has not yet confirmed whether this year's parade will include a naval performance in China's waters, the agency said.

The 1989 parade for the 40th anniversary was reportedly cancelled after the military crushed democracy protests on Tiananmen Square in June that year. -- AFP