China hikes defence budget by 6.8 % in 2021; doesn't want to 'threaten countries'

Amid military tensions with several countries including India, China on Friday hiked its defence budget to USD 209 billion, maintaining a single-digit growth for the sixth consecutive year with a 6.8% increase in 2021. The budget hike was announced by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the country's Parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), PTI reported.

Defending the increase, Zhang Yesui, spokesperson for the NPC, told the media in Beijing that China's efforts to strengthen the national defence do not target or threaten any country. "Whether a country poses a threat to others depends on what kind of defence policy it pursues," he said, adding that China is committed to "the path of peaceful development" and adheres to a defence policy that is defensive in nature.

A single-digit growth for six consecutive years

Last year, China allocated 1.268 trillion yuan (about USD 196.44 billion), according to the ruling party's official mouthpiece Global Times. Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Friday that the slightly increased growth rate is moderate and reasonable, and the figure 6.8% is also related to the country's GDP growth.

China's annual defence budget maintains a single-digit growth for a sixth consecutive year, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. This year's planned defence spending will be about 1.35 trillion yuan (about USD 209 billion), it said.

China's defence budget is about one-quarter of the US figure, which is USD 740.5 billion for the 2021 fiscal year, it said. As the world's second-largest economy and the most populous country, China's planned defence spending per capita in 2021 will be less than 1,000 yuan (USD 154), it said.

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China applies strict mechanisms of fiscal allocation and budget management on its defence expenditure, which is mainly assigned to personnel, training and sustainment, and equipment, it said. China has voluntarily downsized its armed forces by over four million troops since 1978, according to a white paper released in 2019.

Meanwhile, China also aims to expand its gross domestic product (GDP) by over 6% in 2021, with more efforts on reform, innovation and high-quality development, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced at the National People's Congress (NPC).

China's economy, which was the first to be hit by the Coronavirus pandemic and early to recover from its impact, grew 2.3 % in 2020, registering the lowest annual growth rate in 45 years. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the world's second-largest economy grew by 2.3% expanding to USD 15.42 trillion in dollar terms in 2020, according to the data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last month.

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 (With PTI inputs)