China's Defence Expenditure Increase Set at 12.7%

Chinese finance minister Xiang Huaicheng said Monday that China's expenditures on national defense will total 120.5 billion yuan in 2000, an increase of 12.7 percent over the 1999 figure, the same increase rate as in recent years.

He made the statement in his report on implementation of central and local budgets for 1999 and on draft central and local budgets for 2000 at the on-going Third Session of the Ninth National People's Congress.

The increased funds will mainly cover the rise of salaries and allowances for officers and men in the army as well as expenditures for troops stationed in Macao, Xiang said. China started stationing People's Liberation Army troops in Macao in late December last year after the return of Macao to the motherland.

The minister explained that since the army, armed police forces and procuratorial, judicial and public security organs no longer engage in business or run enterprises, an additional 5.6 billion yuan will be provided to cover the necessary expenditures for the performance of their functions.

"Our defense expenditure has remained at a low level because China firmly adheres to a defensive policy in national defense and has always controlled defense spending strictly," a high-ranking military official said.

Statistics show that in 2000 China's defense spending is expected to account for about 1.37 percent of its GDP and 8.2 percent of its state budgetary expenditures, compared with the averages of 3 percent and 15 percent respectively for the world's main countries.

Back to top
Copyright by People's Daily Online, All rights reserved