Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission (CMC), went to a base of the Air Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the depth of the Gobi desert in spite of bitter cold to visit and extend greetings to the officers and men, scientists and technicians on the morning of February 2, 2013. He said that he was always concerned about them and thus came to see them.

Xi Jinping inspected some modernized equipment of the base and stressed that the CPC Central Committee and the CMC attach great importance to the construction and development of the PLA Air Force and the development of the weaponry and equipment.