Western media expose themselves by hyping China's defense budget

Most of the reactions against the increase in China's military budget this year are nothing but clich��s influenced by the "China threat" theory. Although some Western media outlets have mentioned in their reports that the 7 percent increase in China's military budget this year is the lowest in years, they still took a critical stand against China.

Their criticisms are largely centered on China's alleged lack of military transparency and ambiguous strategic intention. Some, quoting so-called Western experts, even went to the extent of speculating that there are hidden budget overlays.

In recent years, China's defense budget, compared with those of other countries, has drawn excessive attention from overseas, especially Western media outlets. Worse, such unusual interest has been coupled with wild speculations and suspicion, which cannot possibly help the outside world to properly analyze why China is forced to increase its military spending.