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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| China to raise military spending | China to raise military spending |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| China says it plans to increase military spending by nearly 18% this year to 417.8bn yuan ($59bn; £30bn). | |
| The figure was revealed ahead of China's annual parliamentary session, which begins on Wednesday. | The figure was revealed ahead of China's annual parliamentary session, which begins on Wednesday. |
| But experts believe the actual amount allocated to the Chinese military is two to three times larger than the published figure. | But experts believe the actual amount allocated to the Chinese military is two to three times larger than the published figure. |
| Critics also complain that China is not open enough about what it is spending the money on. | Critics also complain that China is not open enough about what it is spending the money on. |
| Most of this year's increase would be spent on increasing salaries and accommodating higher oil prices, said Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for the National People's Congress. | Most of this year's increase would be spent on increasing salaries and accommodating higher oil prices, said Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for the National People's Congress. |
| He said spending on armaments would rise only moderately. | |
| "China pursues a national defence policy that is defensive in nature," Mr Jiang said. | |
| "China's limited military capability is solely for the purpose of safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and does not pose a threat to any other country." | |
| He added that China spent less on defence, as a proportion of GDP, than the US, UK, France and Russia. |