China's defense expenditure as a percentage of GDP lower than world average: spokesperson

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- China's defense expenditure as a percentage of GDP is lower than the world average, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

Since 2016, China's annual defense spending has maintained single-digit growth for nine years in a row, said Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, at a press conference.

China's defense expenditure as a share of GDP has been kept under 1.5 percent for many years, he added.