China Defense Budget to Increase 12.2 Percent in 2014

BEIJING, March 5 (UPI) —
China’s defense budget will increase by 12.2 percent to 808.2 billion yuan (about $132 billion) in 2014, a draft submitted to lawmakers indicated Wednesday.

The increase represents the highest growth rate in China’s defense budget since 2011, the country’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Sun Huangtian, deputy chief of the People’s Liberation Army, said the 2014 defense budget will be focused on modernizing the army’s weapons and equipment, improving living and work conditions for personnel and updating the army’s management system.

The increase is “moderate and limited in scale,” Sun said. “We will ensure that every cent of the money is spent wisely to boost the army’s combativeness,” he said.