BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday announced a 7.2-percent increase in its 2025 national defense budget, marking the 10th consecutive year of single-digit growth.

The country's planned defense expenditure this year will be 1.784665 trillion yuan (about 249 billion U.S. dollars), according to a draft budget report submitted to the national legislature for deliberation.

The 7.2-percent increase is the same as the previous two years.

China's defense expenditure as a percentage of GDP has been below 1.5 percent for many years, lower than the world average, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, told reporters Tuesday.

Amid prolonged conflicts as well as rising international and regional tensions, global defense spending in 2024 surged to an all-time high of about 2.43 trillion U.S. dollars.

The United States, which possesses the world's largest nuclear arsenal, remained the world's top military spender in 2024, accounting for 40 percent of the total.

Wu Qian, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, recently accused the high military outlay of the United States of being "concerning" to the international community.

"I believe that the United States should be the first to cut its nuclear arsenal and military expenditure, and put into practice 'America First' in this regard," Wu said.

China's military spending has long been a focal point of Western scrutiny, with the so-called "China threat" narrative being amplified almost every year.

However, the United States has pledged to spend no less than 3 percent of its GDP on national defense, and pushed all NATO members to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of their GDP.

In per-capita terms, China's defense spending has been far less than that of Washington, too.

China upholds a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, with its military spending mainly focusing on protecting its sovereignty, security and development interests. China's development strengthens the world's forces for peace, and the country will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism no matter what stage of development it reaches.

As China continues to play an increasingly important role on the global stage, its military has taken on greater responsibility in providing the international community with more public security goods.

Over the years, Chinese military personnel have frequently joined in international humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts, contributing significantly to global stability.

Moreover, China has sent over 50,000 peacekeepers to more than 20 countries and regions worldwide over the past 30-plus years, contributing the largest number of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.