PHBEIJING, China: China announced on Saturday a 7.1-percent increase in its defense budget for 2022 to $229 billion, continuing years of robust spending on its increasingly powerful military that is challenging the United States armed forces' dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Asian superpower has the world's second-largest defense outlay after the US, allowing it to maintain the largest standing military, with 3 million personnel and an arsenal of advanced weaponry, including two aircraft carriers with more on the way, s†éálth fighters, an advanced missile force and nuclear-powered submarines.
This year's increase exceeds the 6.8-percent boost from last year, showing China's determination to maintain the drive to expand and modernize its armed forces despite high levels of government debt and a slowing economy, partly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
By contrast, the US increased defense spending by about 2 percent this year to $768.2 billion.
Beijing says most of the spending increases would go toward improving welfare for troops. Observers say the budget omits much of China's spending on weaponry, most of which is developed domestically.
The People's Liberation Army exercises a strong political role as the military branch of the ruling Communist Party, overseen by party leader and President Xi Jinping, who heads the party and government armed forces commissions.
The military is largely designed to maintain its threat to use force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, although it has also grown more assertive in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the western Pacific, the Indian Ocean and elsewhere.
In his address to Saturday's opening session of the ceremonial legislature, the National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang said China would "fully implement Xi Jinping's thinking on strengthening the armed forces and the military strategy for the new era...and strengthen party leadership and party building in all aspects of the military."
He indicated no change in China's approach to Taiwan, which it threatens to annex by force if necessary.
China will "advance peaceful growth of relations across the Taiwan Strait and the reunification of China," Li said. "We firmly oppose any separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence and firmly oppose foreign interference."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine sparked conjecture that China might be more disposed to use force against Taiwan if it sensed a lack of resolution on the part of the US and its allies.
Modest growth goalAlso on Saturday, China set its lowest annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth target in a decade, as Li warned of a "grave and uncertain" outlook against the backdrop of the coronavirus, a property slump and uncertainty over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He announced the unusually modest goal of around 5.5-percent growth for 2022 — the lowest since 1991 — in his speech.
Addressing about 3,000 parliament members in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Li said the world's second-largest economy "will encounter many more risks and challenges, and we must keep pushing to overcome them."
The target was based on a need to maintain stable employment, basic living needs and "guard against risks," Li said in China's version of a state of the nation address.
China's economy is a key driver of global growth and crucial domestically for the Communist Party, which has based its legitimacy on delivering steady economic expansion and improved standards of living.
The party is deeply concerned over social instability in its huge population should economic growth dip too low.
Chinese economic growth has slowed markedly in recent years from its past boom decades, when annual expansion sometimes exceeded 10 percent.
The country has been largely successful in controlling the coronavirus — which was first reported in the city of Wuhan in central Hubei province in December 2019 — and limiting its economic impact.
But the economy has been hit lately by a cascading property market slump, government regulatory crackdowns on the property, technology and financial sectors, and smothering containment measures to nip virus outbreaks but which have dampened consumer demand.
China's economy last year surpassed the official growth target of at least 6 percent, expanding by 8.1 percent, but the pace slowed significantly in the second half.
WITH AFP
The Asian superpower has the world's second-largest defense outlay after the US, allowing it to maintain the largest standing military, with 3 million personnel and an arsenal of advanced weaponry, including two aircraft carriers with more on the way, s†éálth fighters, an advanced missile force and nuclear-powered submarines.
This year's increase exceeds the 6.8-percent boost from last year, showing China's determination to maintain the drive to expand and modernize its armed forces despite high levels of government debt and a slowing economy, partly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
By contrast, the US increased defense spending by about 2 percent this year to $768.2 billion.
Beijing says most of the spending increases would go toward improving welfare for troops. Observers say the budget omits much of China's spending on weaponry, most of which is developed domestically.
The People's Liberation Army exercises a strong political role as the military branch of the ruling Communist Party, overseen by party leader and President Xi Jinping, who heads the party and government armed forces commissions.
The military is largely designed to maintain its threat to use force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, although it has also grown more assertive in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the western Pacific, the Indian Ocean and elsewhere.
In his address to Saturday's opening session of the ceremonial legislature, the National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang said China would "fully implement Xi Jinping's thinking on strengthening the armed forces and the military strategy for the new era...and strengthen party leadership and party building in all aspects of the military."
He indicated no change in China's approach to Taiwan, which it threatens to annex by force if necessary.
China will "advance peaceful growth of relations across the Taiwan Strait and the reunification of China," Li said. "We firmly oppose any separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence and firmly oppose foreign interference."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine sparked conjecture that China might be more disposed to use force against Taiwan if it sensed a lack of resolution on the part of the US and its allies.
Modest growth goalAlso on Saturday, China set its lowest annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth target in a decade, as Li warned of a "grave and uncertain" outlook against the backdrop of the coronavirus, a property slump and uncertainty over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He announced the unusually modest goal of around 5.5-percent growth for 2022 — the lowest since 1991 — in his speech.
Addressing about 3,000 parliament members in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Li said the world's second-largest economy "will encounter many more risks and challenges, and we must keep pushing to overcome them."
The target was based on a need to maintain stable employment, basic living needs and "guard against risks," Li said in China's version of a state of the nation address.
China's economy is a key driver of global growth and crucial domestically for the Communist Party, which has based its legitimacy on delivering steady economic expansion and improved standards of living.
The party is deeply concerned over social instability in its huge population should economic growth dip too low.
Chinese economic growth has slowed markedly in recent years from its past boom decades, when annual expansion sometimes exceeded 10 percent.
The country has been largely successful in controlling the coronavirus — which was first reported in the city of Wuhan in central Hubei province in December 2019 — and limiting its economic impact.
But the economy has been hit lately by a cascading property market slump, government regulatory crackdowns on the property, technology and financial sectors, and smothering containment measures to nip virus outbreaks but which have dampened consumer demand.
China's economy last year surpassed the official growth target of at least 6 percent, expanding by 8.1 percent, but the pace slowed significantly in the second half.
WITH AFP