China's central fiscal spending on national defense stood at 482.5 billion yuan ($71 billion) in 2009, Finance Minister Xie Xuren said on Wednesday.

The country's total central fiscal expenditure exceeded 4.38 trillion yuan, an increase of about 843.1 billion yuan over that of last year, Xie told legislators at the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

The central government expenditure exceeded revenue last year, resulting in a fiscal deficit of 750 billion yuan, according to Xie.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2010)