CNN:
Hong Kong (CNN)Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, a revolution has been taking place inside Beijing’s armed forces.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has grown and modernized rapidly since China reopened to the world in the 1980s, but under Xi that pace has accelerated with a focus on fighting and winning future wars.
Xi has also embarked on a massive internal reorganization of the PLA, streamlining the organization and bringing it firmly under his control. On Tuesday, the Chinese government unveiled an increase in military spending of 7.5% during its annual “Two Sessions” legislative meeting in Beijing, a slight dip on last year’s spending increase.
Experts said the slight drop was likely to avoid domestic perceptions that the country’s military spending far exceeded its overall economic growth, which is set to grow at no more than 6.5% in 2019.
