China defence budget rise to defy slowing economy

Beijing

CHINA's defence budget this year will rise about 10 per cent compared with 2014, a top government official said on Wednesday, outpacing the slowing economy as the country ramps up investment in high-tech equipment such as submarines and stealth jets.

Parliament spokeswoman Fu Ying told a news conference that the actual figure would be released on Thursday, when the annual session of the largely rubber-stamp National People's Congress opens. Last year, defence spending rose 12.2 per cent to US$130 billion, second only to the United States.