The official Global Times published an article on March 3, a day prior to commencement of the annual plenum of the National People's Congress (NPC), pitching for an increase in the national defence budget. It said though China's economic growth is slowing down, ordinary Chinese people hope the country can announce a steady increase in its defense budget. It said one netizen suggested on Sina Weibo over the weekend that without a strong defense capability, such tasks as the Belt and Road Initiative or the internationalization of the yuan will be hard to achieve. It noted that China's defense budget is the world's second highest, but the country's military power isn't the second-strongest in the world. Its military expenditures remain far lower than levels in other major countries in terms of the percentage of the defense budget in GDP or government revenue, as well as the average per capita defense expenditure. It added that China's military spending is not in proportion to its economic growth and security needs and the Chinese military must have enough money to make up for missed lessons and modernize its troops. The Global Times argued that the more Chinese companies develop  overseas projects, the more security concerns they will face and since China has stepped into the frontline of international affairs, it must speed up its national defense power "to protect the legitimate interests of Chinese people". It said ordinary Chinese people are in favor of a rise in the defense budget, because they hope China can build a strong national defense force to provide them with protection. Stating that the country has sufficient resources to support a higher defense budget, it said military equipment and technology are being updated more quickly than ever, and this process is getting more expensive as prices of materials rise in China. It is reasonable for China to increase its defense budget at a faster pace to maintain the combat capability of the People's Liberation Army. The article added that China needs to boost the development of technology for military drones, satellite navigation and positioning, long-range radar detection and some other military technologies and that technical innovation will also promote China's economic growth. In conclusion it said if China raises its defense budget at a pace that is faster than its GDP growth rate, that will be in line with many Chinese citizens' expectations.