As soon as the 2024 defense budget was announced, it immediately sparked heated discussions around the world. China's defense budget is 1,665.5 billion yuan, or about $220 billion, up 72%。However, this compares to a whopping $886 billion in the U.S. defense budget in the same year, or 3 percent of its total GDP5%, far more than China's military spending.
Behind these figures is a contest about the global balance of military power. A U.S. think tank expert pointed out that China's military spending has more than doubled since 2015, posing a challenge to the United States and its Asian allies. He claimed that China's military spending increase is aimed at satisfying its "global ambitions" and pursuing greater demands in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, the East China Sea and other regions. However, in terms of China's economic size, its military spending is only 1 percent of GDP8%, much lower than in the United States and other countries.
Why does the United States keep hyping up the theory of the threat of China? The reasons for this are complex and varied. First of all, the Pentagon, in order to get more budget, needs to create an imaginary enemy. In the past, the Soviet Union and Russia were the main adversaries of the United States, and today, China is in the spotlight. Second, the United States seeks to contain China's rise by creating tensions to tighten its grip on its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. Finally, the United States has serious internal problems that need to shift the focus. Trump may once again be in the White House, and the domestic problems in the United States have frequently caused contradictions, and the China threat theory has become a means of diverting attention.
At this challenging and uncertain moment, countries around the world are cautiously responding to changes in the international landscape. China's development and growth is not only its internal pursuit, but also its contribution to global peace and stability. The US hype up the theory of the China threat may be a political tactic, but the strategic competition and international relations game embodied behind it still require all parties to maintain calm and rational thinking.
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