China’s defense spending is set to increase by 7.2 percent this year. This is according to the Chinese Ministry of Finance’s budget plan presented to the National People’s Congress on Tuesday. Military spending is expected to rise to 1.67 trillion yuan (around 231 billion US dollars/214 billion euros). The internal comparison is also important: At 7.2 percent, this figure is significantly higher than the targeted economic growth of „around five percent.“