China’s defense budget to continue to rise in 2021, buttressed by economic upturn, strong fiscal foundation: experts

A military parade is held to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) at Zhurihe training base in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, July 30, 2017. - Xinhua

BEIJING, Feb 27 (Global Times): Despite the impact of Covid-19 over the past year, many Chinese military analysts and observers believe that the country's defense budget for 2021 will continue to increase, likely at a higher growth rate than 2020, and they name China's positive economic growth, the tough military threats China is facing and China's own rightful needs to develop national defense capacity as the main reasons.

Economists and fiscal experts expect the world's second-largest economy to taper spending at large in 2021 on a tightening budget though, after a record 3.6 percent budget deficit target for coronavirus-inflicted 2020.