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China says 2016 defence budget to rise 7-8 pct

China says 2016 defence budget to rise 7-8 pct

By REUTERS

BEIJING: China's defence budget this year will rise by about seven to eight percent compared with 2015, the spokeswoman for the Chinese parliament said on Friday. Spokeswoman Fu Ying told a news conference that the actual figure would be released on Saturday, when the annual session of China's largely rubber-stamp parliament opens. Last year, defence spending was budgeted to rise 10.1 percent to 886.9 billion yuan ($135.39 billion). ($1 = 6.5506 Chinese yuan renminbi)