China's Defense Budget This Year 293 Trillion Won... 7.2% Increase Compared to Last Year

China has decided to increase its defense budget by 7.2% compared to last year.

On the 5th, the Ministry of Finance of China reported at the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing that this year's defense expenditure is set at 1.5537 trillion yuan (approximately 293 trillion won), a 7.2% increase from last year. This slightly exceeds the 7.1% increase rate of the defense budget in 2022 compared to the previous year.

With this, based on officially announced figures, China will continue its single-digit annual defense budget growth rate this year, as it has since 2016.

[Image source=Yonhap News]