China said its military spending will rise by 7.2 percent in 2025, the same increase as a year ago.

It'll be the 10th year in a row the country's annual defence expenditure maintains single-digit growth.

Military spending for 2025 is set to reach 1.78 trillion yuan, according to a draft budget report submitted to the National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation.

On Tuesday, an NPC spokesman said China's defence expenditure as a share of GDP has been kept under 1.5 percent for many years.

China has the world's second-largest military budget, behind the United States. (Xinhua & agencies)