Hike budget for a possible confrontation with the US, says China Army

Xi has vowed to make China a great military power, pledging to complete the modernisation of the armed forces by 2035

China must boost military spending to prepare for a possible confrontation with the US, top generals said, in an unusual acknowledgment of the risk of a clash between the world’s two largest economies.

The two generals — members of the Central Military Commission led by President Xi Jinping — made the comments during the annual national legislative session in Beijing. CMC Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang, China’s top uniformed officer, said the country needed to brace for a “Thucydides Trap,” an inevitable conflict between a rising power and an established one.

“Facing the ‘Thucydides Trap’ and border disturbances, the military must step up