BEIJING -- China's State Press lavished praise on President Jiang Zemin's modernization of the military Wednesday, a day before the People's Liberation Army (PLA) celebrates its 75th anniversary.

All major newspapers printed an article singling out Jiang for fulsome credit, adding weight to speculation he will stay on as military commander-in-chief even after leadership changes due this fall.

"Comrade Jiang Zemin has stood at great heights and has seen far away distances as he has assured victory for the core of the entire (Communist) Party central leadership," said the article, by the official Xinhua news agency. "He has creatively advanced Mao Zedong military thinking and the theories of Deng Xiaoping on military development to bring our national defense and military construction into a new era."

Although Jiang, unlike his predecessors Mao and Deng, never saw military action, he has undertaken a purge of generals during his 13 years as head of the Central Military Commission (CMC), installing loyalists in their place.

Jiang is expected to step down from some or all of his party, state and military posts in a process beginning at a five-yearly Communist Party congress this fall.

However analysts have begun speculating he might be engaged in an attempt to keep some influence, with his CMC post considered the most likely target.

Wednesday's article listed Jiang's achievements since being named military chief by Deng on November 12, 1989, only months after the PLA crushed the Tiananmen Square democracy protests.

Calling Jiang's contribution to China's military modernization "undeniable", the article praised him for maintaining peace and stability in a turbulent and "complex" world.

"He has stressed that to use science and technology to train soldiers is the basic method to raise our military's ability to win a limited war under high-tech conditions, an endeavor that has an important role in pushing forward military modernization," it said.

Although it did not mention China's saber-rattling over Taiwan during the last 13 years, it warmly praised Jiang's role in orchestrating China's biggest-ever joint military exercises in the Taiwan Straits in 1995 and 1996.

These exercises "fully showed our strong determination and solemn position in safeguarding the unity of the motherland," it said.

Chinese Ballistic Missile tests over the Taiwan Straits in 1996 resulted in the United States sending the Seventh Fleet to the region, in the biggest U.S. naval presence there since the Vietnam war.

The article outlined Jiang's achievements in cutting PLA forces from 3 million to 2.5 million troops, and building up a modern air force, navy and Ballistic Missile force.

"The Second Artillery Corp has a series of weapons that include short and middle-range and nuclear and conventional capabilities, which can carry out defensive nuclear counter attacks and conventional attacks against the enemy both independently and jointly with other forces," it said.

The article further praised Jiang for boosting the space industry, including launching three unmanned space ships as part of China's fledgling manned space program.