China's Finance Minister Xiang Huaicheng has proposed a 17.7 percent rise in spendings for national defense in his Report on the Central and Local Budgets for 2000 and the Draft Central and Local Budgets for 2001 at the ongoing Fourth Session of the National People's Congress (NPC).
In his report he delivered in Beijing Tuesday, the second day of the annual session, the minister said that expenditures for national defense will be appropriately increased.
Expenditures for national defense in the central budget for 2001 amount to 141.004 billion yuan, up 17.7 percent over last year.
This is mainly to meet the need to raise the salaries of officers, enlisted men and women and office staff as well as the need to adapt to drastic changes in the military situation of the world and prepare for defense and combat, given the conditions of modern technology, especially high technology, he said.
(Xinhua 03/06/2001)
