Beijing’s $277 billion military spend for 2026 outpaces economic growth and signals an accelerating arms race across Asia
The Numbers Behind Beijing’s Military Ambition
China announced on Thursday that it will increase its defence budget by 7 percent in 2026, allocating 1.9096 trillion yuan — approximately $276.8 billion — to military spending. The figure, released in a Finance Ministry budget report on the opening day of the National People’s Congress, makes China the world’s second-largest military spender after the United States and confirms that Beijing’s military modernisation programme is continuing at pace despite a slower-growing economy. The 7 percent rise represents the slowest rate of increase since 2021 — down from 7.2 percent in 2025 — but still significantly outpaces China’s own 4.5-to-5-percent GDP growth target for the year.
What the Money Will Buy
Analysts told AFP and other news organisations that the defence budget increase for 2026 will primarily fund military salary increases, expanded training operations including drills in the Taiwan Strait, cyberwarfare capabilities, and advanced equipment procurement. Premier Li Qiang told NPC delegates that China would aim to strengthen the military and carry out major defence-related projects over the next five years — language that aligns with the goal of completing the modernisation of the People’s Liberation Army by 2035. The government work report highlighted China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Fujian, commissioned in November 2025, as a symbol of the military’s growing capability.
Taiwan as the Central Driver
The most consequential military deployment this spending will support is the continuing pressure campaign against Taiwan. China has maintained a sustained programme of military exercises around Taiwan, air incursions into the island’s air defence identification zone and naval patrols. The official Chinese position is that Taiwan is a core national interest and that peaceful reunification is the preferred path, but that military options are never off the table. Taiwan’s government and its democratic allies, including the United States and Japan, regard China’s military build-up as a destabilising threat to the democratic governance of 23 million people. Japan, alarmed by the pace of Chinese military development, approved a record defence budget of $58 billion in December 2025. Australia, South Korea and the Philippines have all increased defence spending in response to China’s growing military footprint.
The Human Cost of an Arms Race
For observers committed to the values of democracy and human rights, China’s military spending is not merely a strategic data point. It represents resources directed toward maintaining and projecting a system that imprisons dissidents, suppresses minorities, erases historical memory of the Tiananmen massacre and threatens the democratic freedom of Taiwan and the political rights of Hong Kongers. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute tracks global military spending trends and provides essential context on the regional arms race dynamics that China’s budget is accelerating. The International Institute for Strategic Studies publishes the annual Military Balance, which provides independent assessments of China’s actual military capability beyond the official budget figures. Every dollar of China’s defence budget that goes toward coercing Taiwan, suppressing Hong Kong’s freedoms, or developing surveillance technology is a dollar not spent on education, healthcare or the wellbeing of China’s own citizens. That is the real cost of authoritarian militarism.
Pui Yi Cheung
Economy & Labor Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: puiyi.cheung@appledaily.uk
Pui Yi Cheung is an economy and labor journalist with expertise in employment trends, small business dynamics, and workers’ rights. Educated at a respected UK journalism school, she received formal training in economic reporting, data literacy, and investigative techniques, equipping her to cover complex financial topics accurately.
She has contributed to Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese newspapers, reporting on wage policy, employment conditions, labor organizing, and the economic challenges facing diaspora communities. Her work emphasizes firsthand interviews and careful examination of official statistics and regulatory documents.
Pui Yi brings real newsroom experience in translating economic data into accessible reporting without sacrificing accuracy. She is known for methodical fact-checking and for consulting independent experts when covering technical subjects.
Her authority is reinforced by consistent editorial oversight and adherence to transparency standards, including clear sourcing and prompt corrections when required.
At Apple Daily UK, Pui Yi Cheung produces trustworthy economic journalism grounded in evidence, professional experience, and public-interest reporting.
