China’s defence budget to grow in 2012

government follows the principle of co-ordinating defence development with economic development. It sets the country’s defence spending according to the requirements of national defence and the level of economic development,” Li told a press conference.
The former foreign minister said the growth of China’s defence expenditure is “reasonable and appropriate.”
“The Chinese government has maintained reasonable and appropriate growth in defence spending on the strength of rapid economic and social development and the steady increase of fiscal revenues,” he said.
During the last three years since the outbreak of the international financial crisis, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) and national fiscal expenditure showed year-on-year growth of 14,5 percent and 20,3 percent, respectively, but the country’s defence expenditure only grew by 13 percent, according to Li.
He also noted that the share of defence spending in China’s GDP dropped from 1.33 percent in 2008 to 1.28 percent in 2011, and that in China’s fiscal expenditure dropped from 6,68 percent in 2008 to 5,53 percent in 2011.
China’s national defence spending has always been maintained at a moderate and sufficient level, said Major General Luo Yuan, a researcher with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Military Science Academy.
“Moderate” means China will not raise its military spending merely for the purpose of boosting scale, while “sufficient” means the spending has to meet necessary demand for national defence, said Luo.
Wen Bing, another researcher with the academy, said the moderate growth of China’s defence budget reflects the composure of the Chinese government under the changing global strategic environment.
“In terms of defence spending, the Chinese government will not, as some foreign analysts suggest, make a drastic response to, or overreact to, the so-called ‘worsening of global security,” Wen said.
China’s military spending mainly comprises the living expenditures of servicepeople, expenses for training and maintenance, and spending on equipment, Li said at the press conference.
The costs for research, experimentation, procurement, repair, transport and storage of all weapons and equipment, including new types of weapons, are included in the defence budget that is published every year, the spokesman said. — Xinhua.