China's defense expenditure as a proportion of GDP was less than the global average in 2014, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday.

Spending on defense accounted for less than 1.5 percent of the nation's GDP, much lower than that spent in major countries and the global average of 2.6 percent, Hua said at a regular news briefing.

Taken on a per capita basis, it was even smaller, just one fifth of that in Japan and 1/22 of that in the United Sates, she added.

Hua was responding to the newly released report, The Military Balance, by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, an annual assessment of the military capabilities and defense economics of 171 countries.

The document, issued on Wednesday, claimed China's defense spending outpaced its neighbors' and highlighted what it said was the rapid development of the navy.

China firmly adheres to a path of peaceful development and its national defense policy is of a defensive nature, said Hua.

The spokeswoman said the annual defense budget has been included in the draft budget report submitted to the National People's Congress for review, and the process is open and transparent.

Information, including the total budget and its composition, is also open and transparent, she added, urging related parties to view China's development, including its defense build-up, in an objective and fair way.