Efforts were made to ease foreign concern at China's military buildup and its growing involvement in Africa as Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing participated in a news conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress Tuesday. The international community has called on China to be more open about its military spending following the news that the country's defense budget will see its biggest rise in five years in 2007. But Li said Beijing's military policy is "purely defensive", Bloomberg reported. He added that China is the only permanent member of the UN Security Council to adhere to the UN principle of not interfering in other countries' affairs. On Africa, Li said that China's aid to the continent – US$8 billion in loans and investments is expected over the next three years – was motivated by sympathy with "no strings attached".
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