China intends to increase its defense budget by 7.2% for 2024, the government announced on March 5, during the second annual session of the 14th National People's Congress.
According to Defense News, the new budget amounts to approximately 1.7 trillion yuan (236.1 billion US dollars) and continues to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The budget grew 6.6% in 2020, the lowest rate of increase in nearly three decades.
“The percentage increase is the same as last year, and it is the third year in a row that we have seen an increase of 7% or more,” said Mia Nuyens, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
According to the site, “the Chinese defense budget, as a percentage of GDP, is less than the budget of the United States or NATO, but Nuyens emphasizes that “the official Chinese defense budget does not, of course, include all areas related to defense.”
China's military spending is about four times that of Japan, and about 12 times greater than Taiwan's military spending.
In this context, Defense News pointed out that “the reality shows that China’s real defense spending is higher than what was officially announced. For example, its space program, which is managed by the military; defense mobilization funds; operating costs of regional military bases; military pensions and benefits.” "Dual-use research and development efforts; and paramilitary organizations such as the People's Armed Police and the Coast Guard are not integrated into the defense budget."
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that in 2022, China's actual defense budget was 27% higher than what the country announced.