The unbiased perspective

 On March 5, China announced a 7.2% increase in its defense budget for the coming year, up slightly from last year 7.1% rate of increase. This is the eighth consecutive year of single-digit percentage point increase. The 2023 figure was given as 1.55 trillion Yuan($224 billion), which roughly doubles from 2013. In his report, Premier Li Keqiang said that over the past year, "We remained committed to the party's absolute leadership over the people's armed forces". "The people's armed forces intensified efforts to enhance their political loyalty, to strengthen themselves through reform, scientific and technological advances, and personnel training, and to practice law-based governance", Li said. As China is aiming to achieve the centenary goals of basically realize the modernization of national defense and the armed forces by 2035 and fully build the armed   forces into world-class forces by the mid-21st century on the 100th anniversary of the founding of...