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The People’s Republic of China has announced that the official 7.2 per cent increase in defence budget funding is entirely justified in line with national growth and war preparedness.
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The scale of national defence expenditure is in line with coordinated development of the PRC economy, according to Senior Colonel Wu Qian, Chinese People’s Liberation Army and People’s Armed Police Force delegation spokesperson and Defense spokesperson, speaking at the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress on 9 March.
“In order to ensure that the modernisation process of national defence and the military is compatible with the national modernisation process, to comprehensively improve the strategic capabilities of defending national sovereignty, security and development interests, and to achieve the goals for the centenary of the PLA in 2027,” according to Senior Colonel Wu Qian.
“The national general public budget in 2024 has arranged the defence expenditure of 1.69 trillion yuan, a 7.2 per cent year-on-year increase.
“Among them, the central-level expenditure is 1.67 trillion yuan, also a 7.2 per cent year-on-year increase.”
Earlier this week, on 11 March, the PRC adopted the Report on the Work of the Government during the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress.
The report outlined major tasks for 2024 including a GDP growth rate of 5 per cent, more than 12 million new urban jobs, growth in personal income in step with economic growth, drop of around 2.5 per cent in energy consumption per unit of GDP, grain output of over 650 million metric tonnes, CPI increase of around 3 per cent, and surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 per cent.
To safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, the Chinese government has maintained a reasonably stable growth in overall defence expenditure, and a healthy economic and social development, according to Senior Colonel Wu Qian.
The increased defence expenditure is understood to be focused towards implementation of military preparedness projects and training programs, acceleration of defence-related science and transformation of technology into combat effectiveness, establishment of modern military governance, improvement of service member living conditions, and war preparedness conditions for troops.
“The entire Chinese military will firmly establish the concept of living frugally, strengthen the concept of high efficiency and low waste, adhere to the principle of diligence and thrift in all undertakings, and improve the utilisation efficiency of defence resources,” the spokesperson said.
“China’s defence spending is transparent and moderate. The fact has already proven and will continue to prove that China’s limited defence expenditure is entirely necessary for safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as for maintaining world peace and stability.”
Earlier this week, the PRC hosted the 14th China-European Union dialogue on defence and security policy in Beijing on 12 March.
The meeting was co-chaired by leaders from the International Military Cooperation Office of China’s Central Military Commission and the European External Action Service’s department for peace, security, and defence.
Both sides reportedly discussed defence cooperation, international and regional situations, general relations and issues of concern.
The PRC also announced “Security Bond-2024” joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman between Chinese, Iranian, and Russian navies from 11 to 15 March.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy has sent guided missile destroyer Urumqi, guided-missile frigate Linyi, and comprehensive supply ship Dongpinghu.
The military exercises are designed to strengthen maritime cooperation and safeguard regional stability, according to the PRC.
