The Chinese Government intends to deepen the reform of the People’s Liberation Army of China.
The Chinese authorities intend to increase national defense spending by 6.6% to 1.27 trillion yuan (about $178.8 billion) in 2020. According to the draft budget for 2020 circulated at the opening of the 3rd session of the National People’s Congress (NPC, the highest legislative body) of the 13th convocation on Friday, the growth rate is the lowest in almost 30 years.
“National defense spending [will] amount to 1,268 billion yuan renminbi with a 6.6% increase; public security spending 183,272 billion yuan renminbi (about $25.9 billion) with a 0.7% increase”, – the document said.
The rate of increase in defense spending fell from 7.5% in 2019. The current figure, 6.6%, is the lowest since 1991.
On the eve of the opening of the session, official representative of the 3rd session of the 13th National People’s Congress Zhang Yesui denied the existence of a hidden part of the defense budget in the country. “China has been submitting reports on its military expenditures to the UN since 2007. Where the money comes from, where it goes, everything is absolutely clear. There is no hidden military spending,” he said.