Chinese experts said the new budget would keep military spending roughly in line with the government’s usual formula of G.D.P. Chinese and Western military analysts said it was notable that Mr. Trump’s recent pledge to raise American defense spending by $54 billion had not spurred China to elevate its own spending further. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyThe U.S. military is vastly more powerful than China’s, as Ms. Fu noted. “If China felt threatened, I don’t think slower economic growth would stop them from spending more on the military,” Mr. Ni said. Western groups that study the Chinese military say that actual spending is roughly 1.2 to 1.5 times greater than the announced figures.

Source: New York Times March 04, 2017 07:41 UTC