China’s air force shows off its L15 Falcon trainer on the Zhuhai Air Show in 2022. The country has a deal to export the aircraft to the United Arab Emirates.
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BEIJING — China is ready to extend defense spending this 12 months by 7.2% to 1.56 trillion yuan ($230 billion), in response to a draft released Sunday by the Ministry of Finance.
China’s defense budget grew by 7.1% last 12 months to 1.45 trillion yuan, faster than the 6.8% increase in 2021 and 6.6% climb in 2020, in response to official data.
In 2019, China’s defense spending rose by 7.5% to 1.19 trillion yuan.
In a separate report Sunday about government work, Premier Li Keqiang didn’t mention the Russia-Ukraine war. “We should always stay committed to an independent foreign policy of peace,” the report said.
The work report called for “resolute steps to oppose ‘Taiwan independence'” while sticking to Beijing’s call for “peaceful reunification.”
Taiwan is a democratically ruled self-governed island that Beijing claims is an element of its territory.
The U.S. government in December authorized over $800 billion in defense spending for the fiscal 12 months that ends Sept. 30, 2023. Along with domestic inflation, the spending plan pointed to the have to counter Chinese and Russian military capabilities.
That is significantly higher than prior years.
In fiscal 12 months 2022, the U.S. spent $767 billion, or 12% of its budget, on national defense, in response to Treasury data. That was about 2% greater than the $755 billion spent in 2021, the info showed.
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