China plans to increase its military spending by 7.2% this year in response to geopolitical uncertainties, according to a draft budget presented at the start of this year's session of the National People's Congress in Beijing.
The uptick in defense spending is proportionately higher than the planned increase in total expenditure.
"Uncertainties are on the rise in the external environment," outgoing Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told the almost 3,000 delegates in the Great Hall of the People.
He called for the expansion of the country's armed forces, which should "boost combat preparedness, and enhance military capabilities so as to accomplish the tasks entrusted to them by the Party and the people."
A spokesperson for the meeting a day earlier had justified the above-average increase with "complex security challenges" and China's "responsibilities as a great power."
Observers have expressed concern at China's growing military might considering Beijing's threatening posture toward Taiwan, its contested claims in the South China Sea and its growing rivalry with the United States.
China's defense budget has repeatedly risen faster than total spending in recent years. Last year the military budget increased by 7.1%.
The focus of the annual week-long meeting of hand-picked delegates is the approval of the planned formation of a new government and the setting of the country's economic and political course.
China's economy is expected to grow "around 5%," Li said as he opened this year's session.
Following the end of the strict zero-Covid strategy, which had weighed heavily on the world's second-largest economy last year, Li said he expects China to recover significantly.
Last year's growth target was around 5.5%.
