China defense budget held below double-digit rise at CNPC

by Dramelin 9:00 PM 0 comments

Last year, with China`s economy slowing, the defense budget recorded its lowest increase in six years, 7.
6 percent, the first single-digit rise since 2010, following a nearly unbroken two-decade run of double-digit budget increases.
Parliament spokeswoman Fu Ying said defense spending would account for about 1.
3 percent of GDP, the same level as the past few years.
A 7 percent rise for this year based on last year`s budget would bring the figure to 1.
02 trillion yuan, still only a quarter or so of the U.
S.
defense budget.
The defense budget figure for last year, 954.
35 billion yuan ($138.
4 billion), likely understates its investment, according to diplomats, though the number is closely watched around the region and in Washington for clues to China`s intentions.
China`s military build-up has rattled nerves around the region, particularly because China has taken an increasingly assertive stance in its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas.