China's Defense Budget Rises by an Average of Over 9% Annually

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This year, China's official military budget is projected to be around $224 billion. That has risen by an average of over 9% annually since the late 1990s. But as China's economy slows, increasing defense spending at that kind of rate is going to be a lot harder.

Over the last couple of decades, the state has been making significant investments into its armed forces in an attempt to challenge America’s dominance. We ask how much further they will go. When the Ukraine war sent energy prices soaring, the consequences for Europe proved fatal. And, a tribute to the father of Tibetan film.

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