BEIJING — A spokesperson of the national legislature talked on March 4 about what could be China’s slowest military budget increase for six years, as the world’s second largest economy feels the chill amid rising headwinds.

Fu Ying, spokesperson for the National People’s Congress annual session, said military spending is budgeted to grow by around 7 to 8 percent in 2016.

The exact figure will be released in a budget report to the session, Fu told a press conference.

China’s defense budget rose by 10.1 percent last year.

A growth rate within the range that Fu mentioned might be the lowest for years since 2010, when the figure stood at 7.5 percent.

The spokesperson said the raise in 2016 is in line with China’s national defense need and fiscal revenue.

Premier Li Keqiang will unveil the government’s GDP target on March 5.

The figure is expected to be in a range between 6.5 and 7 percent, compared with the “approximately 7 percent” target announced by Premier Li last year.