China says its military will train more with unmanned equipment

China's military will do more training using unmanned equipment and information technology this year, the defence ministry said on Friday.

Commander-in-Chief and President Xi Jinping wants the military to modernise by 2035. China has said it wants peaceful development but its ever-growing defence budget and military presence has made other countries nervous.

"We will step up on information-based combat training with intelligent features, focus on unmanned and intelligent training for the use of new equipment, and grow our capability for asymmetric warfare," spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said on the ministry's social media.