China’s Defense Budget to See Record Low Growth of 7.6% in 2016

China’s military budget will see record low growth of the past 6 years in 2016, as it is expected to increase by only 7.6 percent this year, the draft budget says.

BEIJING (Sputnik) – On Friday, spokeswoman for China's National People's Congress Fu Ying said that China’s defense budget was expected to grow by 7-8 percent in 2016.

"National defense expenditures will amount to 954 billion yuan [$146 billion], which is 7.6 percent more than last year," the Saturday document says.

Last year, China’s military spending amounted to about $135 billion, having increased by over 10 percent year-on-year from 2014. It was the slowest growth rate in five years.

In 2014, China's defense budget grew by 12.2 percent, amounting to $132 billion and ranking second in the world behind the United States.