Beijing plans to spend 1.9096 trillion yuan ($276.8 billion) on defence -- around three times less than the US military budget.

The increase in military spending for the year was announced in a finance ministry budget report that was published on the sidelines of the annual "Two Sessions" political conclave.

It marks a degree of continuity as Beijing pursues a sweeping anti-graft purge of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) that included the ousting of top general Zhang Youxia in January.

Analysts told AFP the budget would finance military salary increases, training, drills around Taiwan, cyberwarfare capabilities and advanced equipment purchases, among other things.

China has maintained a steady increase in military spending of around seven to eight percent each year since 2016.

The United States is the world's biggest military spender, shelling out $997 billion in 2024 compared with China's $314 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

China claims its defence policy is solely aimed at protecting its territory, which it says includes self-ruled Taiwan.

It has only one military base abroad, in Djibouti, in contrast to the several hundred held by the United States.

However, China's military buildup is fuelling an arms race in Asia and prompting some countries, particularly those with territorial disputes with China, to draw closer to Washington.