Criticism of Chinese military transparency refuted

China's military is more open and transparent than that of Japan, Qian Lihua, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who used to head the Foreign Affairs Office under the Ministry of National Defense, said during the annual two sessions on March 6.

Qian was responding to a Japanese media comment on China's military spending transparency.

Hours after China announced plans to raise its defense budget for this year by 12.2 percent to 808 billion yuan ($132 billion) on March 5, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that China's lack of transparency on spending "has become a matter of concern for the international community, including Japan".

The increase in China's military spending will not change the country's policy of peaceful development, Qian said.

China will not interfere with other country's internal affairs, or solve regional conflicts by force, he said.