BEIJING – China's defense spending has maintained reasonable and steady growth over the past years, a spokesperson for the Chinese military said on Sunday.

Wu Qian, spokesperson for the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force, made the remarks during the annual national legislative session.

It was disclosed at the session that China's 2025 defense budget in the central government expenditures will be 1.78 trillion yuan (about $249 billion), marking a 7.2-percent growth year on year.

The increased expenditure will be mainly used to develop new-domain forces with new combat capabilities and to enhance systems and capacity for reconnaissance and early warning, joint strikes, battlefield support and integrated logistics support, the spokesperson said.

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The spending will also be put into improving military training under combat conditions and deepening national defense and military reform, said Wu.

Compared to major military powers like the United States, China's defense spending remains relatively low in terms of the spending's share in GDP, its share in national fiscal expenditures, the country's per capita defense spending, and expenditure per service member, he added.

The spokesperson emphasized that China has yet to be completely reunified, and faces one of the most complex peripheral security environments in the world.

"The Chinese military faces tough challenges in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

China's restrained defense spending enables the country's military to provide public security goods and further contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity, he said.  

PLA centenary goals

The Chinese military will spare no effort to reach the goals set for the centenary of the PLA in 2027, Wu said.

He described reaching the PLA centenary goals and speeding up the building of world-class armed forces as "strategic imperatives" in China's efforts to build a modern country in all respects.

“We must dedicate our efforts to ensuring that we achieve our goals with strong performance on schedule.”

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Wu said deputies from the armed forces pledged to intensify troop training and enhance combat preparedness across the board, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of military training, strengthen new-domain forces with new combat capabilities, boost military preparedness in various aspects, and enhance the ability to win informatized and intelligent warfare.

Inevitable demise of ‘Taiwan independence’

Wu stressed that several pieces of US weapons will not alter the inevitable demise of "Taiwan independence".

"The more rampant 'Taiwan independence' separatists become, the tighter the noose around their necks and the sharper the sword hanging over their heads will be," he said.

"The PLA is a force of action in countering separatism and promoting reunification," he said while answering media questions, adding that in recent years, patrols around the island and military deterrence have become the norm.

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The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China, which brooks no external interference, he said.

"China's reunification is an overriding trend," the spokesperson said, adding that it is driven not only by strength but also by the will of the people.

As the Democratic Progressive Party authorities step up their separatist provocations under the delusions of relying on the US to seek "Taiwan independence" and using force to resist reunification, they have aroused the common indignation of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and will surely be brought to account by history and justice, Wu said.