China on Sunday kicked-off the plenary session of its parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), where it said that it would increase its defence budget by 7.2 per cent in 2023, a slight uptick compared to 7.1 per cent last year.
This is the eighth consecutive year that China has announced a single-digit percentage point increase in its military budget.
According to a report by the Ministry of Finance published on the opening day of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, China will spend 1.55 trillion yuan ($225 billion) on defence this year.
While presenting the government’s work report, outgoing Premier Li Keqiang said that over the past year, “We remained committed to the Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s armed forces.”
“The people’s armed forces intensified efforts to enhance their political loyalty, to strengthen themselves through reform, scientific and technological advances, and personnel training, and to practice law-based governance,” Li said, according to AP news agency.
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China’s defence budget is the second-largest in the world after the United States, though experts opine that the country spends much more than officially announced.
China spends 14 per cent of its GDP on the defence budget, which pales in comparison to the US which allocates 38 per cent of its GDP. This year, Washington has earmarked over $800 billion for its military this year. In contrast, India, which often faces border challenges with China, spends only 3.6 per cent of its GDP on defence. For the 2023-24 financial year, New Delhi has allocated 72.6 billion dollars in defence spending.
During his speech, Li reiterated China’s long-held assertion of the reunification of Taiwan, and opposed “separatism” and formal independence for the island.
He warned that “external attempts to suppress and contain China are escalating”.
“The armed forces should intensify military training and preparedness across the board… devote greater energy to training under combat conditions, and… strengthen military work in all directions and domains,” he was quoted as saying by AFP.
“We should promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and advance the process of China’s peaceful reunification,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
