China’s ‘two sessions’ 2023: PLA budget set to top US$224 billion as focus on ‘peaceful’ foreign policy remains

Budget and Premier Li Keqiang’s final work report both stress importance of boosting ‘combat readiness’ while deepening ‘independent’ overseas ties

Analysts divided on scale of increase, with former PLA instructor calling it moderate but two others saying actual figure indicates ‘sizeable growth’

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Funding for the People’s Liberation Army will increase by 7.2 per cent to about 1.55 trillion yuan. Photo: AP

Published: 6:35pm, 5 Mar 2023Updated: 7:51pm, 5 Mar 2023

China will increase its defence budget to boost combat readiness while also striving to maintain friendly overseas ties, its top legislative assembly heard on Sunday.

Funding for the People’s Liberation Army will increase by 7.2 per cent to about 1.55 trillion yuan (US$224.3 billion), after a 7.1 per cent hike last year, according to the government budget tabled at the opening session of the annual National People’s Congress.

While the defence spending was in line with analysts’ expectations, the budget proposed by the Ministry of Finance also included a significant 12.2 per cent increase in “diplomacy endeavours” – pegged at 54.84 billion yuan.

This came as both the budget and a government work report presented by Premier Li Keqiang stressed the need to boost China’s combat readiness while adhering to an “independent” and “peaceful” foreign policy.

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PLA scrambles fighter jets after detecting foreign warplanes over South China Sea

The “diplomacy endeavours” set for a funding boost include deepening overseas financial and economic exchanges, participating in international economic governance, opening up further, and pushing forward “high quality” building of the Belt and Road Initiative – a Beijing-led global trade and infrastructure programme launched in 2013 and seen as a signature policy of President Xi Jinping.

“We should remain firm in pursuing a strategy of opening up for mutual benefit. We should continue working to safeguard world peace, contributing to global development and upholding the international order,” Li said in what was his final work report before bowing out as premier, expected to be replaced by Xi ally Li Qiang.