Mar 5, 2018
China has announced a military budget of 1.11 trillion yuan ($175bn; £126bn) for the coming year.
The figure, an 8% increase on last year, was announced by Prime Minister Li Keqiang as the annual meeting of parliament got under way in Beijing.
Mr Li also set a target of 6.5% growth for the economy.
The National People’s Congress (NPC) is also expected to remove the two-term presidential limit, enabling Xi Jinping to remain in office indefinitely.
The move, which was long expected but has been controversial even in China nonetheless, has helped cement Mr Xi’s status as the most powerful leader since Chairman Mao Zedong.
The NPC is largely a rubberstamp parliament, endorsing decisions already made by the Communist Party.
Its delegates, about 3,000 of them representing all provinces and regions, are technically elected, but in practice, hand-picked by the Party.
The gathering takes place under tight security – known dissidents are routinely removed from the capital before it takes place.
