Military budget to be increased by 7.5 percent

Draft plan sets expenditure this fiscal year at approximately 1.19 trillion yuan

China plans to raise its defense budget by 7.5 percent in fiscal year 2019, slightly lower than last year's 8.1 percent hike, according to a draft budget report submitted to the national legislature on Tuesday.

The military expenditure for this fiscal year proposed by the central government is nearly 1.19 trillion yuan ($177 billion), according to the draft fiscal plan released at the opening of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People.