Defense budget increase is lowest in 32 years

The defense budget for the 2020 fiscal year will see the lowest year-on-year increase in more than three decades, according to a draft budget report released on Friday.

The central government proposed an annual defense budget of about 1.27 trillion yuan ($178 billion), a 6.6 percent rise on the last budget, according to the draft to be deliberated on at the third session of the 13th National People's Congress.

The budget's growth rate is the lowest since 1988, when a 3.81 percent increase in the defense budget was proposed.