China increases military spending by 7 percentAFP, BEIJINGChina yesterday announced a 7 percent boost to its defense budget for this year. Photo: BloombergChinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) told delegates that China would bolster the military and “carry out major defense-related projects” over the next five years. Analysts said that the budget would finance military salary increases, training, maneuvers around Taiwan, cyberwarfare capabilities and advanced equipment purchases, among other things. Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said that China has continued its allocations of large percentages of its national budget on military buildup, despite a weakening economy and a decline in consumer spending. China has had a steady increase in military spending of about 7 to 8 percent each year since 2016, although its military spending compared with GDP was about 1.7 percent in 2024, well behind the US figure of 3.4 percent and Russia’s 7.1 percent, data from independent international research institute SIPRI showed.

Source: Taipei Times March 05, 2026 18:10 UTC