On March 5th, the budget proposal submitted at the Second Session of the 14th National People’s Congress showed that the national financial arrangements for defense expenditure in 2024 amounted to 1.66554 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.2%, which is consistent with last year’s growth rate. This marks the ninth consecutive year of single-digit growth in China’s defense budget.
Public data shows that between 2017 and 2023, China’s defense budget increased by 7%, 8.1%, 7.5%, 6.6%, 6.8%, 7.1%, and 7.2% respectively. The growth rate of defense expenditure in 2016 was 7.6%, ending the trend of double-digit growth in the previous five years.
Premier Li Qiang mentioned in the Government Work Report that in 2024, efforts will be made to comprehensively strengthen military training and preparedness, coordinate the advancement of military struggle preparations, conduct practical military training, and firmly defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Efforts will also focus on consolidating and enhancing the integrated national strategic system and capabilities, optimizing the defense science and technology industrial system and layout, and strengthening defense education, mobilization, and reserve force construction.
On March 5th, military expert Zhang Junshe, in an interview with the Global Times, stated, “China’s defense expenditure has always adhered to the principle of coordinating defense construction with economic development. The scale of China’s defense expenditure has been moderate and reasonable for many years. While promoting sustained and healthy economic and social development, it has also maintained moderate growth in defense expenditure, enhancing defense capabilities concurrently with economic strength to better safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.”
Regarding the continuous single-digit growth of China’s defense expenditure for nine years, Zhang Junshe pointed out, “China’s defense budget has not achieved double-digit growth for nine consecutive years, unlike the United States and Japan, which continuously refresh records of military spending growth. This indicates that China’s defense budget growth is restrained, demonstrating China’s lack of intention to engage in military competition with other countries, and highlighting China’s pursuit of a defensive national defense policy and active defense military strategy.”
Zhang Junshe analyzed that in recent years, countries such as the United States, Japan, and India have all maintained double-digit growth in defense budgets, fully exposing their disregard for economic livelihoods and inclination towards militarism. Both the United States and Japan have reached historic highs in military spending for the 2024 fiscal year. Japan’s defense budget for 2024 increased by 16.5% year-on-year, maintaining continuous growth for 11 years. The United States’ defense expenditure for the 2024 fiscal year reached $886 billion, surpassing the sum of the next nine countries’ military spending, accounting for approximately 40% of the total global military spending.
Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the Second Session of the 14th National People’s Congress, stated during a press conference on the 4th, that compared to the United States, China’s defense expenditure is lower. Some military experts have indicated that in terms of the proportion of defense expenditure to GDP, the United States exceeds 3%, with 18 NATO members reaching 2% in 2024, and Japan expected to increase to over 2% by 2027. In contrast, China has maintained its defense expenditure below 1.5% for many years, even below the world average (2.5%) by 40%.
This expert believes that there is a need and space for continuous growth in China’s defense spending. Although China’s total defense spending has ranked second in the world since 2009, it has always been about one-fourth of the United States’ total. For example, in the fiscal year 2023, the United States’ defense expenditure reached $857.9 billion (approximately 6 trillion yuan), while China’s defense budget for 2023 was approximately 1.5537 trillion yuan, accounting for only 26% of the United States’.
The expert believes that the growth of China’s defense expenditure is an inevitable requirement to defend national interests and maintain world peace. With the rapid evolution of the world’s unprecedented changes, continuous regional wars and armed conflicts, the international security situation is severe and complex. China, with the most neighboring countries, is one of the countries with the most complex land borders and maritime interests.
Additionally, Taiwan has been separated from the mainland for more than 70 years. With the encouragement and support of external forces such as the United States, “Taiwan independence” separatist activities are rampant, seriously threatening the stability of the Taiwan Strait and disrupting peaceful development across the strait. As China faces a period of strategic opportunities and increasing risks and challenges, the military tasks are arduous and heavy. Higher standards and stricter requirements are posed for national defense and military modernization. Building and consolidating national defense and a strong military require corresponding defense expenditures, which are natural and indisputable.
Zhang Junshe emphasized that to address regional turbulence, “we must appropriately increase defense spending, which is both necessary to deal with complex security challenges and fulfill the responsibilities and obligations of a major power. Facts have proved that China’s military modernization will not pose a threat to any country but will contribute to maintaining world peace and stability.”
Regarding the so-called “invisible military spending” hyped by some foreign media, Zhang Junshe believes that this is groundless. On one hand, since 2008, China has submitted its military spending to the United Nations every fiscal year, maintaining transparency in military spending. On the other hand, since 1998, the Chinese government has irregularly published defense white papers, which openly introduce the quantity, coverage, and main uses of defense expenditure. “Moreover, China strictly implements fiscal appropriations and budget management systems for defense expenditures, and there is no so-called ‘invisible military spending’.”