China president asks military to tighten spending

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING (AA) - China's president has warned his military that it will not be able to maintain a normal growth rate if it does not tighten its spending.

According to the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is being asked to better administrate tasks, organize military spending and avoid costly non-efficient projects.

“In the face of mounting pressure resulting from the economic downturn, with a slowdown in budgetary income and growing expenditure, it is not easy to se­cure a normal rise in the military budget any more,” the South China Morning Post quoted Xi Jinping as telling local media Tuesday.

The National People’s Congress announced that spending on defense would grow 7.6 per cent this year -- totaling 954 billion Yuan ($145.3 billion).