Beijing expects to spend 1,670 billion yuan (214 billion euros) on defense in 2024. That is still less than a third of what the United States spends on the military. In recent years, China has spent about 6.6 percent more on defense every year than the year before.
The expected economic growth of 5 percent, a multiple of the growth expectation of 0.9 percent for the euro zone, is comparable to that of last year. However, analysts say that the government will have to implement strong stimulus measures to actually achieve this growth.
Last year, President Xi Jinping was appointed to a historic third term, confirming his position as the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. A year later, the focus of the thousands of party delegates gathering in Beijing for the annual meeting is largely on the ailing economy.
This is affected by high youth unemployment, large debts with local governments, a real estate crisis and a crisis on the stock exchanges. China, the world’s largest exporter, is feeling the consequences of a cooling global economy like no other.