Defense budget - Xi Jinping's iron ring tightening the military

Chinese President Xi Jinping's approval of a "surprisingly low" defense budget increase is evidence that he is seeking tighter control over the military through economic tools.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: AFP

Several Chinese military officials are taking the rare step of publicly expressing disappointment at the low defense budget increase announced by the Chinese government last weekend, according to the South China Morning Post.

China will increase its military spending by 7.6% this year, to $146 billion. However, this increase is considered relatively low compared to last year's rate of 10.1%. This is also the first single-digit increase in China's defense budget since 2010.

Major General Qian Lihua, former head of the foreign affairs office under the Ministry of National Defense, said on March 5 at a discussion session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee that this year's increase was a "big drop" compared to last year.

"Before the National People's Congress opened, Western media predicted that China's defense budget could increase by up to 20%. The result was not only much lower than what the West had speculated, but was even far from my expectations," Mr. Qian said.

According to retired Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo, now a political adviser, defense spending growth must indeed be in line with the country's economic situation, but it still needs to be large enough to ensure that national "security needs" are met.

“We should not let our military development momentum stagnate while external security challenges, especially at sea, are rapidly increasing,” Yin said. He said that China cannot compete with the US in the arms race, but its military spending as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP), currently at 1.5 percent, is too low.

“I think 2 to 2.5 percent is reasonable,” Yin said. “We are also cutting 300,000 military officers. So we also need additional funds to help these veterans stabilize their lives.”

Lieutenant GeneralWangHongguang, former commander of the Nanjing Military Command, also announced on March 3 that the Chinese military needs to increase its budget by 20% this year to cover the modernization process and deal with challenges in the East and South China Seas.

Demonstration of strength

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who heads the Central Military Commission, announced plans last September to cut 300,000 non-combat troops as part of a military overhaul aimed at building a modern and streamlined apparatus.

The decision was made after several senior military officials, including General Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and General Guo Junshan,The former deputy director of the General Logistics Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, are all under investigation in the large-scale anti-corruption campaign initiated by Mr. Xi.

Is the Chinese military facing a strong "reform"? (Illustration photo)

Xi "made a smart move by launching the anti-corruption campaign before announcing the military personnel cuts because senior military officials will now feel worried because so many big tigers have lost their power," an unnamed source said, adding that the Chinese president also wanted to show the military that he was fully capable of controlling their lives.

“Unlike Deng Xiaoping, who ordered a million-strong military cut in the 1980s, Xi is a military leader with a civilian background. So he has to use a popular anti-corruption campaign and financial tools to build his personal reputation,” said the source, who asked not to be named.

By accepting a lower-than-expected defense budget increase, Mr. Tap seems to want to send a message that he cannot continue to give more privileges and benefits to the military in the context of the country's economy on the brink of recession.

However, Antony Wong Tong, a military observer from Macau, assessed that Mr. Xi's approach is fraught with "many risks."

“He is giving more tasks to the military, but he is taking away their resources,” Antony said. “It is likely to backfire if Xi cannot get all the senior military officials to listen to him.”

According to VNE