China's defense spending is open, transparent, reasonable and moderate, a Chinese spokesperson said on Saturday.

Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks on Saturday in response to media queries about China's defense budget in 2024 on the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature.

According to a draft budget report submitted to the NPC on Tuesday morning, the Chinese government has proposed to increase its defense budget by 7.2 percent from the previous year.

"The Chinese government adheres to the policy of coordinated development of national defense development and economic development, and it reasonably sets the scale of defense expenditure based on the needs of national defense and the development level of the national economy," Wu pointed out.

In recent years, to better safeguard our sovereignty, security, and development interest, to meet the need of military transformation with Chinese characteristics, China has maintained reasonable and steady growth of its defense spending, consistent with its sound and steady economic and social development, to promote synchronized growth of defense capability and economic strength, he added.

(Cover: Wu Qian,a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, answers media queries on the sidelines of the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, China, March 9, 2024. /CMG)