BEIJING (Sputnik) – On Friday, spokeswoman for China's National People's Congress Fu Ying said that China’s defense budget was expected to grow by 7-8 percent in 2016.
"National defense expenditures will amount to 954 billion yuan [$146 billion], which is 7.6 percent more than last year," the Saturday document says.
Last year, China’s military spending amounted to about $135 billion, having increased by over 10 percent year-on-year from 2014. It was the slowest growth rate in five years.
In 2014, China's defense budget grew by 12.2 percent, amounting to $132 billion and ranking second in the world behind the United States.