Expert interpretation: China's defense spending increase is to defend national interests and maintain world peace
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 10 (Reporters Zhang Mimi, Guo Mingzhi) "The increase in China's national defense is an increase in the strength to maintain regional and world peace." He Lei, deputy to the National People's Congress and former vice president of the Academy of Military Sciences, was interviewed by a reporter from Xinhua News Agency. Shi said that China's defense expenditure growth is reasonable, moderate, true and transparent.
He Lei said that the sacred mission of defending national sovereignty, security, and development interests and the important responsibility of maintaining regional and world peace, put forward a proposal for building a consolidated national defense and a strong military that is commensurate with my country's international status and in line with national security and development interests. New and higher requirements, so the investment in defense spending has also put forward corresponding actual needs.
At the same time, with the development of modernization and the substantial improvement of comprehensive national strength, China's international status has been significantly improved and its influence has grown. The international community will play a greater role in China's international affairs and provide more international public security products to the Chinese military. expectations continue to grow.
He Lei pointed out that China is the second largest contributor to the United Nations and the largest contributor to peacekeeping among the permanent members of the Security Council. It has participated in nearly 30 peacekeeping operations and has sent more than 50,000 peacekeepers.
Over the past 10 years, China has sent a total of 40 escort fleets to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to perform escort and anti-piracy missions. International rescue operation.
In 2021, the Chinese military will provide vaccines and material assistance to the armies of more than 30 countries on the basis of the anti-epidemic material assistance provided to the armies of more than 50 countries in the previous year.
Abdullah Shaheed, President of the 76th UN General Assembly, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency in October last year: "China has played a very, very important role in safeguarding the role of the United Nations and practicing genuine multilateralism with practical actions. ."
He Lei pointed out that China's total defense expenditure is less than 1/3 of that of the United States; whether China's defense expenditure accounts for the proportion of gross domestic product (GDP), the proportion of national fiscal expenditure, the national defense expenditure per capita, the military per capita Defense spending is relatively low.
He also emphasized that China's defense expenditure does not exist and there is no need for the so-called "invisible military expenditure": "China has actively participated in the United Nations military expenditure transparency system, and has submitted to the United Nations an annual report on military expenditures for the previous fiscal year since 2008."
He Lei said that China adheres to an independent foreign policy and adheres to the path of peaceful development, which has been enshrined in the Chinese Constitution.
Pursuing a defensive national defense policy and implementing active defense has been written into the newly revised National Defense Law and has become an unswerving and long-term basic national defense policy.
"No matter how much defense spending is invested, or how far the modernization of national defense and the military develops, China will never seek hegemony, never expand, never seek to establish a sphere of influence, never engage in an arms race, and never threaten any country. This is China. A solemn commitment to the world," He Lei said.