BEIJING: China said on Thursday its defense budget, the world’s second largest after the United States, will increase by seven percent in 2026, in line with expectations but slightly below last year’s.
Beijing plans to spend 1.9096 trillion yuan ($276.8 billion) on defense — around three times less than the US military budget.
The increase in military spending for the year was announced in a finance ministry budget report that was published on the sidelines of the annual “Two Sessions” political conclave.
It marks a degree of continuity as Beijing pursues a sweeping anti-graft purge of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that included the ousting of top general Zhang Youxia in January.
Analysts told AFP the budget would finance military salary increases, training, drills around Taiwan, cyberwarfare capabilities and advanced equipment purchases, among other things.
