J-10 fighter jets of the People's Liberation Army Air Force perform acrobatics at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, on Nov. 6. （Photo by Zhang Wei/Asianewsphoto）
China plans to raise its defense budget by 7.5 percent in the fiscal year of 2019, slightly lower than last year's 8.1 percent, according to a draft budget report submitted to the national legislature on Tuesday.
The military expenditure for this fiscal year is proposed by the central government at nearly 1.19 trillion yuan ($177 billion), according to the draft fiscal plan released at the opening meeting of the second plenary session of the 13th National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.
China's defense budget in fiscal 2018 was set at about 1.11 trillion yuan.
The report was made by the Ministry of Finance and is to be reviewed and discussed by NPC deputies, who are national legislators.
The annual Government Work Report, also released at the opening meeting, said that reform regarding national defense and the military will be further deepened.
The work report said the military will continue improving its combat-readiness training and will firmly safeguard the nation's sovereignty, security and development interests.
The work report also pledged to further boost the civil-military integration strategy and gear up innovation in defense technology.
Zhang Yesui, spokesman for this year's NPC session, said at a news conference on Monday that China's defense expenditure is for the protection of the nation's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and does not pose any threat to other countries.
He said China always sticks to the path of peaceful development and follows policies that are purely defensive in nature.
"To judge whether a country poses threat to other nations, the key lies in its foreign and defense policies rather than the increase in its defense budget," Zhang said.
The spokesman explained that a reasonable and moderate rise in military expenditure is to meet the need of safeguarding national security and facilitating military reform with Chinese characteristics.
"Starting in 2016, the increases in our defense budget have been staying inside single digits each year, as opposed to double-digit rises in the five consecutive years before that year," Zhang said. "Compared with other countries, our defense spending in 2018 accounted for about 1.3 percent of our GDP for that year, while some developed nations maintained a 2-plus percent proportion."
