China on March 05, 2024, announced a 7.2% increase in its defense budget, which is already the world’s second-highest behind the United States at $222 billion, roughly mirroring last year’s rise. China has been increasing its defense budget consistently over the years due to a complex mix of strategic, political, and economic motivations. At the heart of this trend is the country’s ambition to modernize its military capabilities.
U.S., Taiwan, Japan and neighbors with competing claims to the crucial South China Sea are seen as furthering growth in high-tech military technologies from stealth fighters to aircraft carriers and a growing arsenal of nuclear weapons.
The official budget figure announced on March 05, 2024, at the opening of the legislature’s annual meeting is considered only a fraction of spending by the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party, once spending on research and development and foreign weapons purchases are considered.