China's defense budget to grow 7.5% in 2010: spokesman

12:16, March 04, 2010

The news conference on the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2010. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
China plans to increase its defense budget by 7.5 percent in 2010, a major slowdown compared to last year's growth of 14.9 percent, a parliament spokesman said in Beijing on Thursday.

The planned defense budget is 532.115 billion yuan (about 78 billion U.S. dollars), a rise of about 37 billion yuan from last year's defense expenditure, Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), told a press conference.

It is the first time for China's defense budget growth rate to drop to less than 10 percent in recent years, after a row of consecutive double-digit increase.

Source:Xinhua

Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), answers questions from journalists during the news conference on the Third Session of the 11th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2010. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)