grown in tandem with the growth of the national economy and government expenditure. Defense expenditure as a percentage of GDP has fallen from a peak of 5.43% in 1979 to 1.26% in 2017. It has remained below 2% for the past three decades. Defense expenditure as a percentage of government expenditure was 17.37% in 1979 and 5.14% in 2017, a drop of more than 12 percentage points. The figures are on a clear downward trend.
Figure 3 China's Defense Expenditure as a Percentage of Its GDP (1979-2017) (%)
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Figure 4 China's Defense Expenditure as a Percentage of Its Government Expenditure (1979-2017) (%)
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China's Defense Expenditure Since 2012
In the new era, to keep pace with the country's modernization, China is focusing on building a fortified national defense and a strong military commensurate with the country's international standing, and its national security and development interests.
