China keeps defence budget growth steady as modernisation deadline looms

China has earmarked a 7 per cent increase in defence spending this year, keeping the growth rate largely stable even as the White House aims to ramp up expenditure for the military.The 7 per cent is a shade down from the 7.2 per cent rise last year but still above the 4.5 to 5 per cent GDP growth target set for this year.Song Zhongping, a military analyst and former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) instructor, said the increase reflected China’s “moderate growth in defence spending”.Song said the PLA required more investment for training and equipment, particularly to maintain new systems.However, in peacetime, China must allocate greater financial resources to education, science and technology, and public welfare, he said. “Therefore, defence expenditure must remain modest.”