China´s national defense expenditure continues to increase

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Source: CCTV.com | 08-01-2007 16:43

China's national defense expenditure continues to climb. In a 2006 national defense white paper -- the fifth of its kind since 1998 -- the Chinese government makes the increase and use of its defense expenditure transparent.

Last year, upgrading the army for self-defense continued to be the priority for the Chinese military.

Defense authorities set military development spending subject to the country's overall growth.

In the white paper on national defense released at the end of last year, the 2006 defense budget reached 35 billion US dollars. A 14 percent increase on the previous year.

Compared with overall expenditure, the defense budget is proportionally decreasing.