On March 5th, the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday as Premier Li Qiang addressed his report in the opening session of the National People’s Congress.
Li outlined ramped up support for war readiness through expansion of reserve forces.
He also stressed the need for military loyalty, following one of the largest purges in the defence ministry in recent years.
China’s military budget would increase by 7.2 per cent to 1.66 trillion yuan ($231.4 billion), he added.
Fu Qianshao, a former PLA equipment expert, said that China is undergoing an important period of military modernization, which includes replacing legacy weapons and equipment with modern ones, and enhancing personnel training to operate them.
It was a clear signal of Beijing’s drive to allocate more resources from across the country in the event of war and reflected lessons from the Ukraine war, according to Fu.
According to the experts, China is expected to begin test voyage of its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, this year and ramp up the production of advanced military assets such as the J-20 fighter.
