By Kong Pengpeng

BEIJING, March 9 -- China has allocated a defense budget of 1.45 trillion yuan for 2022, up by 7.1% compared to the budget implementation in 2021, said Chinese Defense Spokesperson Senior Colonel Wu Qian, also spokesperson for the delegation of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and People’s Armed Police (PAP) Force at the fifth session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), in an interview on March 9.

To this, Lieutenant General He Lei, an NPC deputy and former vice-president of the PLA Academy of Military Science, pointed out that the sacred mission of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests , as well as the major responsibility of maintaining regional and world peace, has put forward new and higher requirements for building a solid national defense and a strong military that are commensurate with China's international status and in line with its national security and development interests. There are also actual demands for defense spending investment.

Since China’s reform and opening-up, its steady economic development has not only greatly improved the living standards of the people, but also laid a solid foundation for meeting the needs of national defense security and military construction, enabling simultaneous improvement of both national defense and economic strength, and favorable for the integrated realization of a prosperous country and a strong military. "China will adhere to three principles in terms of defense expenditure investment: balancing development and security, as well as national prosperity and strong military; coordinating development of national defense and economic construction; combining diligence and frugality with overall efficiency, with a view to maintaining a reasonable and moderate growth," said Lieutenant General He Lei.

In recent years, China's defense expenditure has been mainly used to improve the living and welfare of its military service members, increase investment in weapons and equipment construction, and ensure military training and diversified military missions. At the same time, China’s defense spending remains relatively low compared with other major military powers across the world. There has been a big gap in terms of the proportion to GDP and national fiscal expenditure, as well as the per capita amount of citizens and military personnel.

Lieutenant General He Lei also pointed out that China's defense spending has always been open and transparent. Since 1998, the Chinese government has explained the scope and main purpose of its defense spending, and the proportion to fiscal expenditure in China’s national defense white papers.

He Lei said that China is a socialist country that loves and maintains peace. Within the framework of the United Nations, China undertakes important tasks such as international peacekeeping, far sea escort and humanitarian relief, either alone or cooperating with militaries of other countries. As the Chinese military grows stronger, the international community has increasing expectations for China to play a greater role in international affairs and for the Chinese military to provide more support in international public safety and security. China's defense spending has maintained a reasonable and steady growth, which will provide a solid foundation for world peace.

"China has always adhered to the path of peaceful development. No matter how much it spends on defense, and how far the modernization of its national defense and military develops, China will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence. Nor will China ever engage in arms race, or threaten any other country. This is China's solemn commitment to the world," Lieutenant General He Lei stressed.