China Review News (CRN) recently reported that China’s 2014 defense spending reached US$130 billion. This amount was the second highest in the world, after the United States. In the past several years, China’s defense spending has largely maintained a double-digit annual percentage increase in growth. According to the spokesperson for the National People’s Congress, the 2015 defense budget will have a 10 percent increase over last year. Currently, China is intensifying its investments in submarines and stealth airplanes, as well as other high-tech weaponry. Chinese President Xi Jinping has been massively rooting out corruption in the Chinese Army. As a result, it is expected that the efficiency of resource consumption will improve and the spending growth rate will drop. However, Japanese news media have been expecting a tighter relationship with China this year.
Source: China Review News, March 6, 2015
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