China to increase defense spending by 11.6% in 2004

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 06, 2004

China to increase defense spending by 11.6% in 2004

China's expenditures for national defense will rise by 21.83 billion yuan, 11.6 percent more than last year, Finance Minister said Saturday in a budget report to lawmakers.

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China's expenditures for national defense will rise by 21.83 billion yuan (about 2.6 billion US dollars) this year, 11.6 percent more than last year, Finance Minister Jin Renqing said in a budget report Saturday.

The increase is aimed to improve the defensive combat readinessof the armed forces under hi-tech conditions and to raise the salaries of army personnel and the pensions for ex-servicemen, theminister said at the annual session of the national legislature.

China's budgetary military spending for 2003 was 185.3 billion yuan (about 22.3 billion dollars). The actual defense spending of the year was not available.

Defense analysts here say that this year's double-digit increase of defense expenditures, along with an on-going disarmament endeavor aimed at trimming the 2.5-million-man People's Liberation Army by 200,000 by the year 2005, is in line with thecountry's army building principle of keeping "fewer but better" troops.

Source: Xinhua

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