Apart from China, Russian President Vladimir Putin called it a good idea. Putin was quoted as saying, “If the US cuts tariffs by 50 percent, we will also cut tariffs by 50 percent and then if China wants, it can also join in.”
China is once again ready to shock America and President Donald Trump. China on Tuesday showed no interest in joining Trump’s proposal to cut the defense budget by about 50 percent from America, Russia and China. It said that its ‘limited’ defense spending is to protect its sovereignty, security and development interests.
Reacting to the proposals presented by President Trump earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that China’s ‘limited’ defense spending is completely out of the need to protect national sovereignty, security and development interests and maintain global peace.
Trump had talked about cutting the budget
Media reports quoted the US President on February 13 as saying, “The first meeting I want to have is with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And I want to say that let’s cut our military budget by half.” He also said, “We can do this. And I think we will be able to do this.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin called it a good idea in his reaction to this on Monday. Putin was quoted as saying in an interview, “I think it is a good idea. The US will cut by 50 percent, we will also cut by 50 percent and then if China wants, it can also join in.”
What is China saying on the suggestion
When asked about his reaction to the comments of President Trump and Putin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin said in a media briefing in Beijing that China is committed to peaceful development, but its ‘limited’ defense expenditure is to protect its sovereignty and development interests.
He said, “China consistently follows the self-defense strategy, pursues coordinated development between its economy and national defense. China never engages in an arms race with any country.” He also said that Beijing has worked for world peace through its concrete actions and has instilled stability and certainty in the world.
China has the largest defense budget after the US
China is the second largest spender on defense after the US. China last year increased its defense budget by 7.2 percent to about US $ 232 billion (1.67 trillion yuan) as it is modernizing all its armed forces on a large scale.
However, there is also speculation that Beijing may increase its defense spending this year as well amid Trump’s claim to further strengthen the US military. China is scheduled to unveil its annual budget, including defense spending, at the annual session of its parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), which is scheduled to begin on March 5 next week.
Lin said global defense spending reached an all-time high last year. According to the data, global defense spending for 2024 is about US $ 2.43 trillion, the highest ever.
