China will raise its defence budget by around 10 per cent this year, a top official said on Wednesday, emphasising that “lagging behind” leaves the country “vulnerable to attacks”. China’s defence budget rose by 12.2 per cent last year, riding on a multi-year run of double-digit increases. Fu Ying, the spokeswoman for the annual session of the country’s top legislature, announced the hike in the defence budget a day ahead of the Third Session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC).
She said the exact figure will be published in a budget report tomorrow. A growth rate of about 10 per cent could be the lowest in five years. However, it would also be the fifth year in a row of double-digit increases, despite slowing economic growth that fell to 7.4 per cent last year and is expected to further decline in 2015.
Fu said as a big country, China needs an Army that can safeguard its national security and people. “To tell the truth, there is still a gap between China’s armed forces (and foreign counterparts) in terms of overall military equipment. We still need more time,” Fu was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.