A military parade on October 1 marking 60 years since the founding of communist China will showcase a modern, professional army wielding advanced new weapons that is increasingly capable of projecting its power overseas.

The goal of the heavily armed procession that will rumble through the heart of Beijing is to show the world -- particularly the United States -- that the global and regional security calculus is changing, experts say.

"This is meant to show the world that China can indeed back up its increasing diplomatic and economic power," Arthur Ding, a PLA expert at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told AFP.

Defence Minister Liang Guanglie last week told state-run media that China's military capabilities had taken a "quantum leap" thanks to a modernisation drive, and that its weaponry now rivalled that of Western countries.

China will pull back the curtain on that arsenal on Thursday, with a military spokesman vowing a range of new and "100 percent China-made" weapons including missiles, fighter jets, high-tech radar and other support systems.

Richard Fisher, a senior fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, a US think-tank, says military watchers are expecting to see two new Dongfeng missiles that could trouble Pentagon policymakers.

China is likely to show off an upgraded Dongfeng 31 intercontinental ballistic missile with a longer range capable of striking deep into the United States and possibly able to carry multiple nuclear warheads, Fisher told AFP.

"This is a very troubling prospect when the Obama administration is rushing to cut down US warhead numbers to the 1,500 to 1,600 range," he said.

Meanwhile, new short and medium-range missiles will highlight China's ability to challenge US military pre-eminence in Asia -- particularly a US pledge to defend Taiwan, the self-ruled island China vows to reclaim.

They include the Dongfeng 21 intermediate-range missile, believed to have advanced new targeting systems.

"The US does not now have an effective defence against this missile, and thus a key pillar of the US deterrent structure in Asia is under threat," Fisher said.

Analysts also expect the PLA to showcase the Jian-10 fighter jet as well as logistical and communications systems signalling the high-tech transformation of the 2.3-million-strong force, which combines ground, naval and air units.

The PLA today bears scant resemblance to the peasant army born eight decades ago, which long relied on its sheer numbers to project its might.

For years, China's threat to retake Taiwan -- its overarching security goal -- remained a pipe dream due to the PLA's persistently backward state.

Jolted by its problem-plagued 1979 incursion into Vietnam, China launched a military revamp that took off in recent years thanks to huge budget hikes.

The push helped lead to one of China's crowning achievements: its fast-growing space programme, launched by the PLA but now officially under a civilian agency.

Besides new hardware, China has stepped up military integration and vastly improved logistics -- less heralded modernisations that improve its ability to wage protracted operations, said PLA expert Dennis Blasko.

"The ability of various arms to pull together is very important. And China has been taking to heart the adage that an army travels on its stomach," said Blasko, a former US Army attache to China.

But the PLA's upgrading has raised foreign concern about China's intentions.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said this month that China's military could soon "disrupt (US) freedom of movement and narrow our strategic options."

A Chinese defence ministry spokesman quickly dismissed that as "groundless", saying the PLA existed purely for defensive purposes, according to state media.

Blasko added that while China has an army capable of putting on an impressive parade, its battlefield abilities remain untested.

"The Chinese have got that first army -- how far they've travelled to create the second one is much less clear to outsiders and is not to be revealed October 1," he said.

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