Military Budget Of China

The Chinese government adopts several measures to see that the financial budget in China can equally benefit all and sundry. The government in China publishes the Military budget of China every year in the month of March. Abiding by the National Defense Law, the government in China believes in working towards a harmonious union between the economic set up of the country and national defense system of the country. The Military budget of China encompasses details of the expenses related to the national military force.

Statistical information of Military budget of China (year wise):

In the year 2000:

In the year 2000, military budget of China had a figure which was approximately 14.6 million. The expenses for military activities was seen to increase by approximately 17.7% for the current year(2007).

In the year 2001:

In the year 2001, the cost incurred by China for its various military activities was USD$17 billion. As per details derived from military budget of China, it was discovered that this budget figure exceeded the cost incurred by other countries like South Korea, India and Taiwan for their various defense activities. The increase in the defense related expenditure can be attributed to the fact (as put forward by Beijing), that there was an increase in the military activities throughout the world, which necessitated the “sudden changesâ€. It was partly referring to the Kosovo War, led by the United States of America, in the year 1999.

In the year 2002:

Military budget of China revealed that in the year 2002 expenses for military activities increased by approximately 17.6%. This summed up the total expenditure to USD$20 billion in the same year.

In the year 2003:

Budget for various defense activities was enhanced to USD22 billion in the year 2003.

In the year 2004:

From the budget figures or the expenses shown in the above paragraphs, we notice a gradual increase in the expenses incurred for military activities. The same trend was observed in the year 2004. In the same year the Finance Minister of China suggested an increase of 11.6% or approximately USD$2.6 billion for defense activities. China had a deficit of USD$38.7 billion. This deficit was the same as what was registered in the year 2003. Cost incurred for activities like import of foreign arms as well as the overall cost involved for military activities in the year 2004 was roughly estimated to be ranging between USD$50 billion and USD$70 billion.

In the year 2005:

China declared that in the year 2005, the military budget of China would increase by 12.5%. In other words, budget was enhanced to approximately, USD$29.9 billion or 247.7 billion yuan. The Chinese government, has declared that its government would make all efforts to increase the military budget of China every year. And that is what it has been doing for several years together.

In the year 2006:

In the month of March the Chinese government proclaimed the military budget of China as USD$35 billion. Maintaining the increasing trend there was an increase by 15% as compared to the previous year.

In the year 2007:

The month of March, 2007, witnessed an increase in the military budget of China by approximately 17.8 percent in comparison to 2006. The budget increased to USD$45 billion.

Composition of military budget of China:

Transparency is something which is usually not maintained by the Chinese government in matters related to the military budget. Military budget of China excludes expenses related to foreign acquisitions and research and development work related to military activities and activities of paramilitary force.

Conclusion:

We have seen an increasing trend in the military budget of China. For several years, increase in defense budget was soaked up by high rates of inflation. Another problem encountered by the Chinese government is that the methods adopted for evaluating and estimating budget figures are not efficient enough. The estimation is usually done by the Peoples Liberation Army or the PLA.