Comments On 5 March, China opened its annual session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing and amidst tensions with both India and the US, announced a defence budget of USD 209.4 billion (CNY 1.355 trillion), an increase of 6.8 percent over FY2020 (USD 196.44 billion/ CNY 1.268 trillion). The increase is consistent with the last five budgets. This defence budget — over three times India’s (USD 65.7 billion including pensions) but a quarter of USA’s (USD 740.5 billion), is particularly significant. It has now breached the USD 200 billion mark, and is also the first within China’s new 14th Five Year Plan (2021-2025). Also Read