China to increase military spending

Baku. 4 March. REPORT. AZ / China has said that it will increase military spending by about 7% this year, just days after Donald Trump outlined a boost to the US defence budget. Report informs citing the BBC.

The scheduled announcement was made ahead of the annual National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing.

China has been rapidly modernising its armed forces in recent years as its economy expands.

However the country's defence budget is still far smaller than that of the US.

The announcement marks the second consecutive year that the increase in China's defence spending has not reached a double-digit percentage rise following nearly two decades at or above 10%.

It means that total spending will account for about 1.3% of the country's projected GDP in 2017, the same level as in recent years, said government spokeswoman Fu Ying.