China's national legislature holds news conference ahead of annual session

Chinese military strength helps safeguard peace

Lou said the defense budget is part of China's overall national budget and the specific figure will be announced after the opening of the NPC's annual gathering on Wednesday.

"However, I can share with you that China's defense budget has maintained single-digit growth for nine consecutive years since 2016. The proportion of defense spending to our GDP has remained below 1.5 percent for many years, lower than the world average," said the spokesman.

NPC to boost foreign exchanges in China's diplomacy

The National People's Congress will further leverage the unique advantages of the legislative body in external exchanges to serve the overall national diplomatic agenda.