LONDON — After nearly two decades of double-digit increases in its military budget, China announced a mere 7.5 percent jump in its defense budget this year.
It was the first time since the 1980s that China's defense spending had increased by a single-digit percentage. The Chinese government maintained that while this increase will be used to enhance China's ability to meet various threats, the nation remains "committed to peaceful development and a military posture that is defensive in nature."
At the domestic political level, it was important for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to control its spending patterns given the toll that the global financial crisis has taken on the Chinese economy, especially the crucial export sector. China's massive economic stimulus program and the attempt by the government to devote more resources to relieve growing socioeconomic tensions might have forced the CCP to divest the defense sector of some resources.