Beijing: China on Tuesday announced a 7.2 percent increase in its defense budget, which is already the second highest in the world.
America has the highest defense budget in the world which is 222 billion dollars. Tensions with the US, Taiwan, Japan and neighboring countries with claims to the South China Sea are believed to be driving a rise in ‘high-tech’ military technologies, from stealth fighter aircraft to aircraft carriers and increased arsenals of nuclear weapons.
The official budget figures, announced Tuesday at the opening session of China’s legislature, are considered by many foreign experts to be only a fraction of the spending by the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party.
China’s economic growth target for this year is about five percent, Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday in an annual report on government plans and performance on security and the economy.
The ruling Communist Party is stressing the need to increase consumer spending to help prop up the economy. Due to falling housing rates and concerns about jobs, many households are avoiding spending more or are not able to spend.
The economy grew by 5.2 per cent last year but this was followed by a much lower annual growth rate of three per cent in 2022 as the country faced several disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Prime Minister said that the leadership will try to improve the management of policies. Li was addressing about 3,000 delegates to the National People’s Congress and about 2,000 members of a parallel advisory body at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.