China’s National Defense Policy Is Defensive in Nature.doc

China’s National Defense Policy Is Defensive in Nature 　　NATIONAL defense expenditure empowers the armed forces to guard the lives of each citizen and maintain the nations security and development. The military budgets of major countries indeed have impact on the world order as a whole. It is therefore unsurprising that China’s annual defense budget draws global attention. Spokesperson for the National People’s Congress（NPC） Fu Ying announced at a press conference on March 4， during the annual “two sessions” of the NPC and CPPCC， that Chinas national defense budget in 2017 would increase to approximately RMB 1 trillion（US $145 billion）， a year-on-year rise of about 7 percent. We include in this months China Today the following interview with Qian Lihua， a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC） and former director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defense. He spoke with our reporter about Chinas national defense expenditure and elaborated the role of the Chinese armed forces in safeguarding national security and maintaining world peace. Small Proportion of China’s GDP While talking about the increase in China’s national defense expenditure， Qian Lihua clarified his explanation with relative statistics from 2010 through to the present. National defense expenditure rose 7.5 percent in 2010， and maintained double-digit growth for five consecutive years from 2011 to 2015. In 2016 and 2017， however， those figures reverted to single digits. In 2016， Chinas national defense expenditure totaled RMB 954.354 billion， with 7.6 percent growth year on year. In 2017， the further seven percent increase will bring this amount to RMB 1 trillion. These statistics show that the 2017 increase in national defense expenditure is the lowest since 2010. “Do more with less” is China’s fundamental principle， in expectations that both military and economic benefits might be maximized. Qian Lihu