2019 China defense budget -- an indication of the nation's strategic intention -- to increase by 7.5 percent

BEIJING –China’s defense budget will jump 7.5 percent this year, down slightly from last year’s 8.1 percent, as Beijing grapples with ongoing territorial disputes and seeks to create a “world-class” military. The Japan Times reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

5 March 2019 -- A draft budget from the annual session of China’s rubber-stamp parliament revealed the nation's proposed defense budget on Tuesday.

The rate is slower than last year but will still outpace the economic growth target for the year, which Beijing set at 6 to 6.5 percent, a separate report showed. The 2019 draft defense budget, submitted to the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) on Tuesday, would total 1.19 trillion yuan ($177.61 billion), the state-run Xinhua News Agency said.

The country’s defense budget is the world’s second largest and a closely watched indicator of Beijing’s strategic intentions. The U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency have said that Beijing’s poor accounting transparency mean the numbers could be significantly lower than actual expenditures.

Related: China vows 'reasonable' rise in defense spending ahead of national security budget's release

Related: Fiscal 2019 could be 'high-water mark' of defense spending

Related: Is The United States military posture losing the ability to defend the nation?

John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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