China congress reveals growth target and defence boost
Premier Li Keqiang delivered a work report as the parliament session got underway China announced a growth target of 7.5% and revealed plans to raise its defence budget by 12.2%, as it opened its annual parliament session in Beijing.
Issues such as targeting corruption and the environment are also on the agenda at the National People's Congress.
Premier Li Keqiang told delegates the government would "declare war" against pollution and "crack down hard" on terrorism.
The congress also marks one year since Xi Jinping was confirmed as president.
The 10-day meeting of around 3,000 legislators from delegations across China began on Wednesday.
China describes the NPC as the country's "supreme organ of state power". However, in practice, it is generally considered a rubber stamp for the ruling Communist Party.
While no new laws or legal amendments are expected to be put forward this year, the session will highlight some of the government's 2014 priorities.
'Painful adjustments'Premier Li Keqiang is presenting a work report highlighting targets for China's economy this year.
He said that the government's "work got off to a good start" but admitted that "there are still many problems that people are unhappy about".
"Painful structural adjustments need to be made" in China's development, he said, though economic growth will remain stable.
According to the speech, the government will aim to keep inflation at about 3.5%, while boosting domestic growth and carrying out "people-centred urbanisation".
Security will be tight for the 10-day parliamentary meeting Implementing reforms to tackle local government debt is also expected to be a priority.
The latest military budget boost comes amid tensions between China and many of its neighbours, including Japan and the Philippines, over disputed territories.
China has consistently announced double-digit increases to its official military budget in recent years. However, analysts say its total military spend may in fact be higher.
China has also accused Japan of failing to adequately address its actions in World War Two.
In Wednesday's speech, Mr Li said: "We will safeguard the victory of World War Two and the post-war international order, and will not allow anyone to reverse the course of history."
'Red light warning'In his speech, Mr Li pledged to fight corruption "without mercy".
President Xi Jinping has launched a high-profile crackdown against corruption since coming to power.
In the latest in a series of moves to curb official corruption, delegates to this year's conference have been banned from holding banquets.
Mr Li also said the government would act on air pollution. In many urban areas, including Beijing, pollution levels routinely exceed the safety limits set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Li Keqiang admitted the toxic smog hanging over many Chinese cities was "nature's red light warning against the model of inefficient and blind development", the BBC's Celia Hatton in Beijing reports.
Security at the congress will be tight after a mass stabbing attack at a railway station in Kunming, south-west China.
Eight attackers stabbed people at the station at random on Saturday, killing 29 and wounding more than 130.
Officials have blamed separatists from Xinjiang - which is home to the Muslim Uighur minority - for the attack.
On Wednesday morning, two protesters were dragged away from Tiananmen Square, near the venue for the NPC, by policemen. It is not clear what they were protesting about.
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