China declared on March 5, 2024, that it would augment its defense sector expenditure by 7.2 percent. Notably, China increased its defense budget allocation to the same amount last year as well. China already allocates the highest amount of money in the world (1.6 billion yuan) to the military, second only to the United States.
China is funding its military modernization with more money as tensions with the US and its neighbors, including Japan and Taiwan, rise. The budget exceeds the allotted amount when one considers the amount China spends on R&D to create new weapons for its military and the amount it pays other nations to obtain sophisticated weaponry. China reportedly spends twice as much on the armed forces.