China's limited national defense spending is to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.
Lin made the remarks in response to a media query about China's national defense spending.
"In recent years, global military spending has continued to rise. Statistics show that global military spending stood at 2.43 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, a new record high in history. Behind the continuous growth of global military spending is the ever more intensified international and regional security situation, highlighting a growing deficit in security at present. All parties are facing the common challenge of global security governance. The international community, major countries in particular, should set an example and take the lead in serving as the propeller of global unity and the ballast stone of international peace," he said.
"China has unswervingly adhered to the path of peaceful development. Its limited national defense spending is completely out of the need to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and to maintain world peace. China has always pursued a strategy of self-defense and coordinated development of economy and national defense, and is not to engage in any arms race with any country. It has always safeguarded world peace in concrete action and continuously injected stability and certainty into the world," Lin said.
Spokesman on China's defense spending
An airport attendant in Italy has captured widespread attention online for delivering passenger services entirely in Chinese, impressing travellers with his language skills..
Gabriele Bonanni, who works at Rome Fiumicino Airport, once studied in Beijing. After returning to his home country, he began to work for Air China in Rome.
"Many passengers feel surprised at first and then feel exceptionally warm as they hear fluent Chinese in a foreign land. A sense of warmth bridges the gap in communication in an instant," said Bonanni.
Besides a sense of warmth, Chinese-language services, covering check-in, boarding and luggage transport, provide a better experience for Chinese travelers abroad.
Rome Fiumicino Airport has also set up Chinese guiding signs and shopping guides, and provides Chinese travelers with flight information through online platforms like WeChat and Xiaohongshu. Besides, China's Alipay application has been available at most of the stores in the airport.
"When it comes to the Chinese market, to speak frankly, Aeroporti di Roma has always had a very clear vision in recent years. We want to place Chinese customers at the center of our service system, making them feel at home and gaining the best travel experience. Thus, we have taken a series of measures in recent years to customize services for Chinese travelers," said Federico Scriboni, director of aviation business development at Aeroporti di Roma, operator of Rome Fiumicino Airport.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Rome-Beijing route. So far, the annual passenger volume of this route exceeds 210,000 trips. In the first half of this year, the number of passengers on this route increased by 38 percent year on year.
Italian airport attendant popular for Chinese-language service
