SpokespersonfortheNationalPeople鈥檚Congress(NPC)FuYingannouncedatapressconferenceonMarch4,duringtheannual鈥渢wosessions鈥漮ftheNPCandCPPCC,thatChina鈥檚nationaldefensebudgetin2017wouldincreasetoapproximatelyRMB1trillion(US$145billion),ayear-on-yearriseofabout7percent.
Weincludeinthismonth鈥檚ChinaTodaythefollowinginterviewwithQianLihua,amemberoftheNationalCommitteeoftheChinesePeople鈥檚PoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC)andformerdirectoroftheForeignAffairsOfficeoftheMinistryofNationalDefense.HespokewithourreporteraboutChina鈥檚nationaldefenseexpenditureandelaboratedtheroleoftheChinesearmedforcesinsafeguardingnationalsecurityandmaintainingworldpeace.
SmallProportionofChina鈥檚GDP
WhiletalkingabouttheincreaseinChina鈥檚nationaldefenseexpenditure,QianLihuaclarifiedhisexplanationwithrelativestatisticsfrom2010throughtothepresent.Nationaldefenseexpenditurerose7.5percentin2010,andmaintaineddouble-digitgrowthforfiveconsecutiveyearsfrom2011to2015.In2016and2017,however,thosefiguresrevertedtosingledigits.In2016,China鈥檚nationaldefenseexpendituretotaledRMB954.354billion,with7.6percentgrowthyearonyear.In2017,thefurthersevenpercentincreasewillbringthisamounttoRMB1trillion.Thesestatisticsshowthatthe2017increaseinnationaldefenseexpenditureisthelowestsince2010.
鈥淒omorewithless鈥漣sChina鈥檚fundamentalprinciple,inexpectationsthatbothmilitaryandeconomicbenefitsmightbemaximized.QianLihuaexplainedthegreatimportancethatChinaalwaysattachestoappropriatenationaldefenseexpenditure.Thecountryinsistsoncoordinateddevelopmentbetweennationaldefenseandtheeconomy,controllingthescaleofexpenditure,andmaintainingamoderateannualincreaseinlinewiththedemandsofnationaldefenseandmilitaryreforms.
ToclarifyChina鈥檚militaryexpenditurescale,QianLihuacomparedtheworld鈥檚twolargesteconomies鈥搕heUnitedStatesandChina.TheU.S.nationaldefensebudgetwasUS$597billionin2016,andin2017itrosetoUS$618.7billion.PresidentTrumpevenplanstoaddafurtherUS$54billiondollarstothemilitarybudgetin2018鈥揳9.3percentincrease.Whenconsideringwhatpercentageofacountry鈥檚GDPistakenupbynationaldefenseexpenditure,statisticsshowthatChina鈥檚militarybudgetusuallyaccountsforabout1.3or1.5percent,whilethatoftheUnitedStatesisgenerally3.4percent.China鈥檚militaryexpenditurepercapitaisalsosubstantiallylowerthanthatoftheUnitedStates.
QianLihuanotedthatnationaldefenseexpenditureisdeterminedinaccordancewiththecountry鈥檚securitystrategiesandnationaldefensepolicies.TheU.S.aimstobuildamilitaryforcewhichcanimplementitsglobalsecuritystrategiesandbedeployedabroad.China鈥檚military,however,focusesonsafeguardingthecountry鈥檚sovereignty,securityandnationalinterest,anddevelopment,soupholdinganationaldefensepolicythatispurelydefensiveinnature.Despitetheincreasesinthecurrentbudgetandareastowhichmilitaryinvestmentisallocated,China鈥檚nationaldefenseexpenditureremainscommittedtoitsdefensepolicy.
TransparentNationalDefenseExpenditure
Asregardsallocationsfromthislargesum,QianLihuaexplainedthat,inlinewiththe鈥淲hitePaperonChina鈥檚NationalDefensein2010,鈥滳hina鈥檚expenditureisinthethreemainareasofpersonnel,trainingandmaintenance,andequipment.
Currently,asnationaldefenseandmilitaryreformsstrengthen,Chinahassetdownadjustmentstoitsmilitaryexpenditureinfiveaspects.Theyare:
First,giveprioritytonationaldefenseandmilitaryreforms,toensurethattheadjustmentstoandsystematicoptimizationofthearmedforcesareinplace.Second,scaleuptheresearchanddevelopmentbudgetsformainequipmentandfortheupgradingofmilitaryequipment.Third,allocatebudgetsformilitarytrainingandeducation,inabidtocultivatenew-typehigh-calibermilitarypersonnel.Fourth,improvetheconditionsforreadinesstrainingandforthelifeandworkofmilitarypersonnel.Lastbutnotleast,inclinetowardssuchfieldsascivil-militaryintegration,nationaldefensemobilization,andconstructionoftherearareas.
China鈥檚nationaldefenseexpendituresareallocatedbeyondthemilitaryfield,apracticedistinctivefromothercountriesbutinlinewiththecountry鈥檚statusquo.
QianLihuastressedthattheChinesearmyisalwaysafirmforceforsafeguardingworldpeace.Chinahasunswervinglyadheredtoanationaldefensepolicywhichisinherentlydefensive,andcombineditwithanactivedefensivemilitarystrategy.Itsstrategicintentionsandcapabilitybuildingareopenandtransparent.
TheChinesegovernment,incompliancewiththeNationalDefenseLawandtheBudgetLaw,includesallspendingrelativetonationaldefenseinthebudget,whichitthensubmitstotheNationalPeople鈥檚Congressforapproval.
TheChinesearmedforceshaveexpandedtheirextentofinformationtransparency,sodisplayingtheirconfidenceandopenness.Inrecentyearstheforceshavemadeinformationavailabletothepublicviathemedia,militaryandacademicinstitutes,regularpressconferences,andmonthlyupdatesonarmybuilding.TheMinistryofNationalDefensepublishestheWhitePapereverytwoyears,andreleasesthelatestnewsinThePLADaily,theMinistryofNationalDefensewebsite,themilitarynetwork,andrelatedgovernmentwebsites.
Since2007,theChinesegovernmenthassubmitteditsannualmilitaryexpendituretotheUN.Thispracticereflectsthecountry鈥檚proactiveinterestandparticipationintheaffairsoftheinternationalcommunity.Bypublishingitsnationaldefenseexpenditure,Chinacandisplaytotheworlditsnationaldefensepolicyandthedevelopmentofitsarmedforces.
CommitmenttoInternationalPeacekeeping
Thereportofthe18thCPCNationalCongressproposedthattheChinesearmycontinuetostrengthenmilitarycooperationwithothercountries,enhancemutualmilitarytrust,participateinregionalandinternationalsecurityaffairs,andexertapositiveinfluenceoninternationalpoliticsandsecurity.
Chinahasbeenproactiveinmaintainingpeaceintheinternationalcommunity.InthelightofUNresolutions,Chinasentsquadsofpeacekeepingtroopsoverseas.Since1990,QianLihuasaid,over30,000peacekeepershavebeendeployedinmorethan10nations.Atpresent,2,600-plussoldiersarestillonmissionsinAfricaandtheMiddleEast.SinceDecember2008,Chinahasdispatched24navyfleetstoescortasmanyas6,900domesticandforeigncommercialvesselswithintheGulfofAdenandSomalianwaters.
TheparticipationofChina鈥檚armedforcesintheseinternationalmilitarytasksunderlinesthecountry鈥檚resolutiontoenhancethetransparencyofChinesetroops,andtomaketheworldbetterunderstandChina,itsarmedforces,andmilitaryreforms.
Chinaholdsamilitaryparadetomarkthe70thanniversaryofthevictoryoftheChinesePeople鈥檚WarofResistanceAgainstJapaneseAggressionandtheWorldAnti-FascistWaronSeptember3,2016.