China's defence budget sees a rise of 7.1%, expenditure shadowed by Russia-Ukraine war

In monetary terms, China`s 2022 defence spending is CNY1.45045 trillion (USD229.39 billion). Indeed, the budget revealed on 5 March confirms a continuing rebound in expenditure. Last year, China increased spending by 6.8 per cent to CNY1.355 trillion (USD209.4 billion).

Hong Kong: China has announced its defence budget for 2022 on the opening day of its fifth annual session of the 13th National People`s Congress (NPC). Usually these annual announcements of Chinese military spending grab headlines, but in 2022 the 7.1 per cent rise in Beijing`s defence expenditure is overshadowed by the Russia-Ukraine war.

In monetary terms, China`s 2022 defence spending is CNY1.45045 trillion (USD229.39 billion). Indeed, the budget revealed on 5 March confirms a continuing rebound in expenditure. Last year, China increased spending by 6.8 per cent to CNY1.355 trillion (USD209.4 billion).

The overall increase of approximately USD20 billion this year is actually the largest ever (the second largest was USD13.4 billion in 2021, and the largest was USD13.6 billion in 2014). Two years ago, China approved just a 6.6 per cent increase in defence spending, which represented a dip due to the onset of COVID-19. In preceding years, the budget had risen 7.5 per cent (2019) and 8.1 per cent (2018) annually.

This is the seventh year in a row where the defence budget has risen in only single-digit percentages, underscoring that the halcyon days of double-digit growth are long gone. The pretty consistent year-to-year gains for defence expenditure also underscore that the PLA is at heart a political entity.  Threat perceptions may change over time, but China continues to prioritize spending on the People`s Liberation Army (PLA) no matter what reason it ascribes to the growth. Typically it paints a narrative that China is merely reacting to events around it, rather than the fact that Chinese spending is ringing alarm bells across the world.

Anonymous "analysts" quoted by China`s parochial Global Times said the budget was "steady and reasonable at a time when China needs to modernize its military capabilities to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity amid severe external threats and an unstable security environment".