China keeps defence budget growth steady as modernisation deadline looms

China has earmarked a 7 per cent increase in defence spending this year, keeping the growth rate largely stable even as the White House aims to ramp up expenditure for the military.
In a budget released on Thursday at the start of the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), Beijing said it would allocate 1.91 trillion yuan (US$277 billion) for defence.
The 7 per cent is a shade down from the 7.2 per cent rise last year but still above the 4.5 to 5 per cent GDP growth target set…