However, in a break with recent practice, Zhang Yesui refused to provide a figure for the rate of growth in the national defence budget. He said China defended and contributed to the current United Nations-centred global order, but also said some reforms were necessary. China’s defence spending as a share of GDP and the budget also remains lower than that of other major nations, he said. Years of double-digit percentage growth have given China the world’s second-largest defence budget after the United States, which is in a class of its own with a proposed budget of $716 billion for next year. Combined with President Xi Jinping’s plans to eliminate term limits on his rule and his consolidation of control over the military, the lack of public information about defence spending and military planning “pushes China toward a more authoritarian and militarized leadership,” Jennings said.

Source: thestar March 04, 2018 16:52 UTC