On Friday, the Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China has confirmed that the Chinese government plans a 6.8 percent increase (the largest gain since 2019) in the defense budget in the coming year.
According to a press release issued on 5 March, China’s annual defense budget will maintain single-digit growth for a sixth consecutive year by increasing 6.8 percent in 2021.
The details were given in a Friday media release also said that this year’s planned defense spending will be about 1.35 trillion yuan (about $209 billion).
China’s defense budget is about one-quarter of the U.S. figure, which is 740.5 billion U.S. dollars for the 2021 fiscal year, the release states.
“As the world’ second-largest economy and the most populous country, China’s planned defense spending per capita in 2021 will be less than 1,000 yuan,” said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that еhe defense spending boost comes after China sparred with India on its border and as the nation seeks to modernize its military to make it more competitive with the U.S.
