China military budget to rise 7-8%

China will boost defence spending by about 7-8 percent in 2016, the smallest increase in six years, as Beijing seeks to build a more streamlined military

China’s publicly disclosed defence budget ($ billions)*

Figures in italics indicate increase over previous year

2007 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

45.0 17.8 57.2 17.6 70.3 14.9 77.9 7.5 91.5 12.7 106.4 11.2 114.3 10.7 132.0 12.2 144.0 10.1

*Pentagon and global arms bodies estimate actual spending
may be 40-50 percent higher than published amount

2016 budget: $154-155bn 7-8% increase

China $573bn $154-155bn

United States Proposed defence budget for 2016 more than three
times that of China

Sources: Chinese government, wire agencies