Beijing - Saba:
China's defense spending has maintained reasonable and steady growth over the past years, military spokesman Wu Qian said Sunday.
Wu, a spokesman for the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force, made the remarks at the annual national legislative session.
It was revealed at the session that China's 2025 defense budget in central government expenditure will reach 1.78 trillion yuan (about 249 billion U.S. dollars), representing a year-on-year growth of 7.2 percent.
The increased spending will mainly be used to develop new-domain troops with new combat capabilities, and to enhance systems and capabilities for reconnaissance, early warning, joint strikes, battlefield support and integrated logistics, Wu said, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The spending will also go toward improving military training under combat conditions and deepening military and national defense reform, Wu added.
Wu said that compared with major military powers such as the United States, China's defense spending is still relatively low in terms of its share of GDP, its share of national fiscal expenditure, the country's per capita defense spending, and spending per soldier.
The spokesman stressed that China has not yet been fully unified, and that it faces one of the most complex security environments in the world.
"The Chinese military faces tough challenges in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Wu said.
Wu stressed that China's restrained defense spending enables the country's military to provide public security goods and contribute more to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
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