Beijing, 4th March, 2010: China has revealed that its military spending will increase by 7.5% in 2010, ending a long run of double-digit growth.It will spend 532.1bn yuan ($77.9bn:£51.7bn) over the year, the spokesman of the country's annual parliamentary session announced. According to Chinese figures, this is the first time in more than 20 years that the military budget increase has dipped below 10%.

Li Zhaoxing said that, as a proportion of GDP, China still spends less than other countries, such as the US. Washington has repeatedly urged China to be more open about its rapidly rising military spending.

Speaking at a news conference, Mr Li claimed China was increasing transparency on this issue.

He said the extra money being spent on the military would help it meet various security threats, without specifying what those threats were.

But he added: "The only purpose of China's limited military strength is to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."