China to raise defence budget by around 7%

Beijing March 4 (IANS) China s 2017 defence budget will expand by around 7 per cent a spokesperson for the annual session of the country s top legislature announced on Saturday.

Fu Ying spokesperson for the 12th National People s Congress (NPC) annual session said the increase is in line with China s economic development and defence needs Xinhua news agency reported.

The country s defence budget rose by 7.6 per cent in 2016.

The fresh raise could be the country s slowest defence budget rise in more than a decade and mark the second time that defence budget dip to single-digit increase since 2010.

In 2009 the figure was about 15 per cent.

Fu meanwhile noted that China s defence spending accounts for about only 1.3 per cent of the country s gross domestic product as compared with NATO members pledge to dedicate at least 2 per cent of GDP to defence.

You should ask them what their intentions are Fu added.

--IANS
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