China’s defence budget rebounds strongly
The Chinese Communist Party is not permitting COVID-19 to interfere with its militaristic ambitions and modernisation.
China announced its 2021 defence budget on 5 March, during the fourth session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing. Military spending will rise by 6.8% to CNY1.355 trillion ($209.2 billion) for the coming year.
This is a significant increase compared to a year ago, especially when the impact of COVID-19 is factored in as most other countries around the world divert funds into pandemic and economic relief.
To put this figure in perspective, current Chinese military spending is greater than that of India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and Taiwan combined. Furthermore, China’s 2021 incremental increase of $13.4
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