The message from the NPC: China is investing more in defense

China’s defense budget for 2023 will increase by 7.2 percent compared to 2022. This means that the defense budget will increase for the eighth year in a row. Then the total comes to the equivalent of about SEK 2,240 billion. Only the United States invests more money in defense annually.

– The increase in defense spending is necessary to deal with complex security challenges and for China to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, said Wang Zhao, spokesperson for the Chinese parliament, at a press conference before the National People’s Congress.

The largest fleet in the world

According to the World Bank, China spent 1.7 percent of the country’s GDP on defense in 2021, which is comparable to 3.5 percent in the United States, according to the Associated Press.

With two million soldiers in the People’s Liberation Army, China already has the world’s largest standing army and also the world’s largest navy, with nuclear-powered submarines. A third Chinese aircraft carrier has been launched recently, and on top of that comes a huge stockpile of robots, fighter jets, and bombers capable of handling nuclear weapons.

Set goals for growth

The country is also investing in naval bases abroad and already has one completed in Djibouti and another under construction in Cambodia, where it can quickly venture out into disputed maritime areas in the South China Sea, Associated Press reports.

At the annual People’s Congress, China’s highest decision-making body with about 5,000 delegates, new economic growth targets for China were also set. “About 5 percent” is what applies for 2023, which is slightly higher than what the country managed to achieve last year. Then the economy grew by 3 percent.