China's $175bn defence budget three times higher than India's

Beijing: China on Monday hiked its defence spending to 8.1 per cent of its GDP, pegging its economic growth at 6.5 per cent in 2018.

China's defence budget in 2017 was 7 per cent of the country's GDP and has been in single digit since 2013, but this year's military spending is the highest in three years. The budget of $175 billion is three times higher than India's defence spending.

China's economy, which grew in double-digit for three-decades, has slowed down over the years.

The economic target was announced by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang when he delivered the work report to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's Parliament which opened on Monday.

China has the world's largest standing Army and spends the most on defence after the US in the world. President Xi Jinping has vowed to make the Chinese Army a modern force by cutting down its troops.

This was mentioned by Li while delivering the work report at the Great Hall where nearly 3,000 Chinese lawmakers had gathered.

"We have completed the task of reducing the armed by 300,000 troops," Li said at the opening session of the NPC.