Beijing: China on Tuesday announced a 7.5 per cent hike in its defence budget for this year, hiking it to a whopping USD 177.61 billion.

According to a draft budget report to be submitted at the opening of the annual session of China's Parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), on Tuesday, the 2019 defence budget will be 1.19 trillion yuan (about USD 177.61 billion). The hike this year is lower than that of last year's 8.1 per cent which amounted to USD 175 billion. With this year's increase, China's defence spending moved closer to the USD 200 billion mark, making it the highest spender on defence after the United States.

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In past year China has resorted to major reforms of its military, which included giving priority to expand its navy and air force to enhance its influence abroad, while cutting down three lakh troops of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Even after the cuts, the PLA is the world's biggest military with two million personnel in its ranks. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has vowed to turn the PLA into a world class military by mid-century, has repeatedly called on the army to be battle ready.

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Talking about India’s budget, India's defence budget this year was increased by 6.87 per cent to Rs 3.18 lakh crore against last year's allocation of Rs 2.98 lakh crore, notwithstanding expectations of a major hike when China and Pakistan were increasing their military capabilities.