The second principle is the order of priorities. Currently, improving the information-based equipment, strengthening the construction of the human resources and raising the informationization level are the major points of China's military construction. Secondly, strengthening the joint training of the land force, navy and air force under various conditions and improving the capacity of joint operations are an important task faced by China's armed forces. Thirdly, improving the living and working conditions of some military units stationed in harsh border areas or economically-backward areas is an urgent task faced by China's armed forces. Fourth, providing supports for China's armed forces to fulfill overseas missions and other international peacekeeping activities is also a key point of China's national defense budget.
The third principle is that the growth rate should be proper. Maintaining a proper growth rate of the national defense budget is the fundamental guarantee for China's armed forces to realize the goal of modernization. Starting from 2008 when the international financial crisis broke out, China's annual average GDP growth rate was 14.5 percent, annual average growth rate of the national financial budget was 20.3 percent, but annual average growth rate of the national defense budget was 13 percent. The percentage of the national defense budget accounting for the GDP and national financial budget had decreased from 1.33 percent and 6.68 percent of 2008 to 1.28 percent and 5.53 percent of 2011. Global strategic research organizations generally believe that the modernization level of China's armed forces is between 20 and 30 years lower than that of developed countries. Therefore, the national defense construction task faced by China is very heavy.
One thing that we must clearly point out is that China firmly adheres to the peaceful development policy. China's military expending is to improve the country's self-defense capacity but not aimed at the military expansion or invading other countries.
Some foreign research organizations not only turn blind eyes to the 5,000-year peaceful development history of China and the complex security environment faced by China, but also criticize the growth of China's military expenditure, and even distort China's normal military modernization goal.
China's military modernization is normal and right. China has no secret scheme.
