Economics
China Dials Back Defense Spending Increases as Economy Cools
- Growth of ‘about 7%’ could be lowest in more than a decade
- Slower increase contrasts with Trump Plan to Boost U.S budget
A Chinese jet fighter during a military drill in the South China Sea.
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China indicated a continued slowdown in defense spending growth this year, as President Xi Jinping presses ahead with a sweeping military overhaul.
The defense budget will rise “about 7 percent,” National People’s Congress spokeswoman Fu Ying told a briefing ahead of China’s annual legislative session in Beijing. An actual spending target wasn’t expected until Sunday, when the Ministry of Finance releases its 2017 budget at the start of the 11-day legislative gathering.