ABC News:

BEIJING — China on Saturday announced a 7.1% increase in defense spending in 2022 to $229 billion, continuing years of robust spending on its increasingly powerful military that is challenging the U.S. armed forces’ dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.

China has the world’s second-largest defense budget after the U.S., allowing it to maintain the largest standing military, with 3 million personnel and an arsenal of advanced weaponry, including two aircraft carriers with more on the way, stealth fighters, an advanced missile force and nuclear-powered submarines.

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