中國今年軍費預算將增10%

China’s defence budget will rise about 10 per cent this year in an attempt to narrow a “gap” with potential adversaries, a Chinese official said on Wednesday. The comments indicate that Beijing intends to prioritise military spending, even as economic growth slows.

一位中國官員週三表示，今年中國的國防預算將增長10%左右，以求縮小與潛在對手之間的“差距”。此言表明，北京將優先安排軍費開支，即便經濟增長正在放緩。

Fu Ying, a spokeswoman for the annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber stamp parliament, said the figure for defence spending growth this year would be “about 10 per cent”.

全國人大（中國的橡皮圖章議會）年會女發言人傅瑩表示，今年國防開支增長幅度將是“10%左右”。

“There is still a gap between China’s armed forces in terms of overall military equipment. We still need more time,” she said. “Lagging behind leaves one vulnerable to attacks. That is a lesson we have learnt from history.”

“實事求是地講，我們國家整體軍備的水平還是有差距的，還是需要時間的，”她說。“我們的歷史教訓，落後就要捱打，這個我們不會忘記。”

Sam Perlo Freeman, an analyst with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said the figure was in line with recent trends. With a projected inflation rate of 2.5 per cent, the real-terms increase works out at about 7.3 per cent, he said. Annual gross domestic product growth fell to 7.4 per cent last year and was expected to decline further in 2015.

斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所(SIPRI)分析師薩姆•珀洛-弗里曼(Sam Perlo-Freeman)表示，這個數字符合近年的增長趨勢。他表示，鑑於預期通脹率爲2.5%，實際增幅將爲大約7.3%。去年中國國內生產總值(GDP)年度增幅降至7.4%，預計2015年將進一步下降。

“It will leave China’s military spending as a share of GDP more or less unchanged,”Mr Freeman said. “The overall trend over the years has been for military spending to keep pace with GDP growth.”

“這將意味着中國的軍費開支與GDP的比例基本保持不變，”弗里曼表示。“這些年來的總體趨勢是軍事開支與GDP增長保持同步。”

Global arms experts estimate actual spending by China may be anywhere from 40-55 per cent more than the stated defence budget because it does not include the costs of high-tech weapons imports, research and development, pensions and maintenance of nuclear forces.

全球軍備專家估計，中國的實際軍費支出可能比公佈的國防預算高出40%至55%，因爲後者不包括高科技武器的進口、研發、養老金以及維持核打擊力量的費用。

The Chinese defence budget has risen by double digits in nominal terms every year except one in the past two decades. A 10 per cent increase would bring the total military budget to about $145bn, the second-biggest in the world.

過去20年來，除了一年以外，中國的國防預算按名義價值計算年年達到兩位數增幅。10%的增長將使今年軍費預算總額達到大約1450億美元，爲全球第二大國防預算。

However, this level of defence spending is still dwarfed by the US, which annually spends more than the next 10 largest defence spenders put together. The Pentagon’s budget request for 2015-16 is about $585bn.

不過，這一水平的國防開支與美國相比仍相形見絀。美國的年度國防預算超過排在其之後10個國家的國防預算之和。五角大樓對2015-16年度的預算申請約爲5850億美元。

Despite the large gap, China’s increased military spending has alarmed the US, in part because Beijing is focused mainly on Asia while the US military presence is spread around the world.

儘管存在很大差距，但中國增加軍費已經驚動了美國，部分原因是北京方面主要專注於亞洲，而美國的軍事存在是分散在世界各地的。

China continues to pour money into developing high-tech weapons, as it struggles to assert itself as a newly emerged superpower. A wide-ranging reform of the military announced in 2013 included plans to streamline the People’s Liberation Army and emphasise naval and air power in a force that has traditionally been focused on winning land battles.

隨着中國竭力確立自己作爲一個新興超級大國的地位，中國繼續投入大量資金髮展高科技武器。2013年宣佈的全面軍事改革計劃包括精簡解放軍，並使這支傳統上專注於陸戰的軍隊更加註重海軍和空軍力量。

The Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, was commissioned and entered service in 2012, while the country’s air force tested its first stealth aircraft, the J-20, in 2011.

中國首艘航母“遼寧號”（見上圖）已於2012年交接並服役，而中國空軍在2011年試飛了首型隱形飛機殲20。

Arms procurement is also being reformed to emphasise competitive tenders and include the private sector in a push to lower prices and improve the efficiency of budgets.

武器裝備的採購也在進行改革，強調競爭性招標，幷包括私營部門，以求壓低價格，提高預算效率。