The large military budget is necessary to defend China's sovereignty, security, and interests – and to maintain world peace, claims the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.
We are not engaging in an arms race with other countries, asserts the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesperson Lin Jian.
China's defense expenditures have increased in recent years, in line with the growing tensions in several parts of Asia and the Pacific region.
On Monday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on state Russian TV that Trump's proposal for halved defense budgets for the USA, Russia, and China is a "good idea".
The same day, Putin is said to have spoken by phone with China's President Xi Jinping, among other things about the war in Ukraine.
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