Beijing, March 5 China announced on Thursday that its defense budget would be increased to $275 billion, about $25 billion more than last year, as it accelerated the modernization of its armed forces to catch up with the US military.
Approximately 1.9 trillion yuan ($275 billion) will be allocated to national defense, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced in his work report presented to the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday.
The report stated that China's defense spending remains comparatively modest across key relative indicators, including its share of GDP, per capita defense expenditure, and defense expenditure per military personnel.
Last year, China announced a 7.2 per cent increase for its national defense budget to $249 billion for 2025, which is a $17 billion increase compared to 2024.
China's defense spending, second only to that of the US, has been growing over the years, putting enormous pressure on India and other neighboring countries to scale up their defense budgets in the face of economic challenges.
In 2024, China increased its defense budget by 7.2 per cent to approximately $232 billion (1.67 trillion yuan) – more than three times that of India – as it continues with the massive modernization of all its armed forces.
China's defense budget figures are viewed with skepticism in light of massive military modernization, including the construction of aircraft carriers, the rapid construction of advanced naval ships, and the development of modern stealth aircraft, all of which are being carried out at a feverish pace by the Chinese military.