China is set to boost military spending significantly when the Chinese Parliament opens early next month. This is according to China watchers and others who study the country closely.
Last year the People’s Republic of China only increased spending on the armed forces by 6.6% the lowest rate of increase in almost 30 years. This was as the country was dealing with the height of its Covid-19 outbreak. Chinese military spending last year was approximately $178 billion.
‘China is facing the most severe security situation since the Korean War,’ said Ni Lexiong, a retired professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.
According to Reuters, Ni predicts a substantial increase in Chinese spending. This will make up for the small increase last year and to counter the growing arms sales of the United States to Taiwan and the deployment of US warships to the disputed South China Sea.