Chinese military analysts say that Beijing needs to significantly increase defense spending in order to fund President Xi Jinping's mass military overhaul plan, according to the South China Morning Post.
China's National People's Congress is expected to announce this year's budget for the People's Liberation Army next week. Experts say China needs to resume double-digit defense spending increases in order to meet the goals of Xi's plan.
The 2016 defense budget was 954 billion yuan ($138.6 billion USD), the first single-digit increase since 2010. China's defense spending will jump to 1.6 trillion yuan ($233 billion USD) in 2020, according to a 2016 report from IHS Jane's.
Xi wants to transform the world's largest military into a smaller, but more technologically advanced and strategically ready fighting force. In addition to advancements in technology and equipment upgrades, he also wants to lay off 300,000 military personnel by the end of this year.
"This year's military spending increase may need to return to double-digit growth if the retrenchment compensation for the 300,000 troops is counted in," a Beijing-based retired senior colonel told the South China Morning Post.
Even with the spending increases, the United States is still the biggest military spender by far, allocating just over $622 billion to defense spending in 2016. China's 2017 defense budget will be released days after President Donald Trump announced his plan to increase U.S. defense spending by $54 billion.
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