China will boost its spending in military by 11.2 percent to 670.3 billion yuan (106 billion U.S. dollars) this year, the government said on Monday.

The increase in defense budget is in line with China's economic development and demand in national demand, Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for China's National People's Congress, said ahead of the annual session of the National People's Congress, the top legislature.

China's defense spending is reasonable and appropriate, he said, "China has 1.3 billion people; we have a large territory and a long coast line but our defense spending is relatively low compared with other major countries."

"China's defense spending as a share of GDP in 2011 was only 1.28 percent. For the United States, Britain and other countries the figures all exceeded two percent," Li added.

Li also announced a rise of spending on the People's Liberation Army to 670.2 billion yuan (110 billion U.S. dollars) for 2012.

"China is committed to the path of peaceful and development and follows a defensive national defense policy," Li told the news conference.