China Announces Biggest Military Spending Increase In Five Years
China announced its biggest increase in defense spending in five years on Sunday, a boost that quickly prompted the United States to renew its calls for more transparency from the Chinese military about the scope and intent of its continuing, rapid arms buildup.
Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for the National People's Congress, the Communist Party-controlled national legislature, said China's military budget would rise this year by 17.8 percent to roughly 350 billion yuan, or just under $45 billion.
The New York Times | JIM YARDLEY and DAVID LAGUE | March 4, 2007 08:42 PM