China on Friday hiked its defence budget for the first time to more than USD 200 billion, over three times higher than that of India, maintaining a single-digit growth for sixth consecutive year with 6.8% increase in 2021.
The defence budget was announced by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the opening day of the National People’s Congress, China’s Parliament. The announcement came amidst the standoff with India in eastern Ladakh and growing political and military tensions with the US.
Last year China allocated around USD 196.44 billion to its defence, according to the Global Times. China’s current budget is about one-fourth of the US figure, which is USD 740.5 billion for the 2021 fiscal year.