Source: China – South China Morning PostThe Chinese defence ministry has rejected speculation over any “hidden military spending”, emphasising that China’s defence budget still lags far behind that of the United States.The comments from ministry spokesman Wu Qian came after Beijing revealed a 7.1 per cent rise in defence spending this year – the fastest pace of growth since 2019.The increase would take the military budget to 1.45 trillion yuan (US$230 billion), up from a 6.8 per cent increase in 2021 and a 6.6 per cent rise in 2020…Read More