China to raise defense spending by 7.5%, lower than 2018

Chinese troops parade at the end of the day of the Vostok-2018 (East-2018) military drills at Tsugol training ground not far from the borders with China and Mongolia in Siberia, on September 13, 2018. AFP

BEIJING, China — China will raise military spending by 7.5 percent in 2019, lower than the increase last year, according to a government report released Tuesday.

The government will spend 1.19 trillion yuan ($177.6 billion) on defense after it increased by 8.1 percent to 1.11 trillion yuan in 2018.

The lowered rate comes as the country’s economy is slowing down, with the report presented at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress setting a growth target of between 6.0-6.5 percent.

China is the world’s second-biggest military spender but remains far behind the United States, which budgeted $716 billion for defense in 2019.

The spending plan comes as Beijing steps up its rhetoric against any independence movements in self-ruled Taiwan and continues to assert its vast territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.

China has strived to provide its two million-strong People’s Liberation Army with state-of-the-art hardware, spending heavily on stealth warplanes, aircraft carriers and other weaponry. /cbb