#精品长文创作季#
According to the budget table released so far, the PLA's military spending this year has exceeded 1.6 trillion yuan for the first time. This represents an increase of almost 7.2 per cent over the previous year's statistical level.
Moreover, the mainland's military spending has almost doubled in the past 10 years. From 800 billion yuan to 1.6 trillion yuan.
But there are still many people who feel that our military spending is too small. Some smokers even said that they should pay more for the military and pay less for the reparations. So what's going on here? Why are so many fellow smokers concerned about the mainland's military spending?
1. The level of China's military spending is not too much
There will be so many Chinese demanding further increases in military spending, mainly because the mainland's military spending is really not too much compared with some countries. At present, China's military spending is at full capacity, that is, it has just exceeded 200 billion US dollars. The United States' military spending has exceeded $800 billion, and it is still developing at a relatively rapid pace.
Many people believe that in a few more years, the US military spending will also grow to more than $1,000 billion. That's almost 5 times more than we now spend on the military.
The United States has always threatened to fight a trade war and a science and technology war with China, and will continue to engage in a strategic blockade against China. In such a situation, we naturally have a realistic need to increase military spending.
Only when military spending increases, can China's national security be guaranteed. Indeed, as many smokers and friends say, we now have the money not to increase military spending, is it possible that we really want to pay compensation?
To understand this, we have to start with history. Everyone knows that the Qing Dynasty was a very decadent and backward feudal dynasty, and since the Opium War, the Qing Dynasty has been invaded by Western powers. It was also forced to sign a series of unequal treaties with Western powers, including land cession and reparations.
But in fact, the money that the Qing Dynasty used to pay reparations back then could have been used to build a strong country. The Qing Dynasty was militarily weakened in the mid-to-late 19th century, but it was huge.
In addition, we have been trading with European countries for many years. It has always been in a surplus position in trade, so it earns a lot of silver.
The people of the Qing Dynasty were also very wealthy, and a large number of wealthy merchants appeared, such as the famous Jin merchants, Zhejiang merchants and so on. The Qing government's financial revenue was not low, but they used all this money to pay war reparations, and they did not want to use it to develop the economy, develop science and technology, and strengthen the military.
After the end of the Sino-Japanese War, the Beiyang Fleet was completely annihilated, and the Qing government was forced to begin to bear huge reparations to Japan. You know, the Japanese were also very poor at that time.
They were able to defeat the larger and stronger Qing Dynasty in the First Sino-Japanese War, but it was actually due to luck. And there was no unity within the Qing Dynasty.
Later, the Japanese took the indemnity given by the Manchu Qing Dynasty and began to further develop their national strength and economy. It took more than 20 years to become a world power that can be compared with the United States and European countries.
But if the Qing Dynasty could have been tougher back then, it would have paid more attention to the Beiyang Fleet. Maybe after the Sino-Japanese First Sino-Japanese War, it was the Japanese who needed to lose money.
Moreover, the Qing Dynasty used the original indemnity money to develop the economy and develop science and technology, and perhaps after the 20th century, China would not have experienced nearly 50 years of humiliation. Therefore, it is necessary to give priority to the development of the military when there is money.
Only when the military is strong can we guarantee our own national defense security. Otherwise, no matter how good the country's economic situation is, no matter how rich it is, it is meaningless to not have a strong army to protect itself.
2. Japan is a typical example
After the end of World War II, Japan entered a period of rapid development. At that time, the United States provided very comprehensive support to Japan.
The huge aid from the United States allowed Japan's economy to develop rapidly, and it did not take long to shake off the shadow of a defeated country. It has even become the second largest economy in the world.
In the late 70s and early 80s of the last century, Japan's comprehensive national strength was also very strong. They also have particularly strong scientific and technological research and development capabilities.
At the peak of their peak, Japanese companies can invest in the U.S. market without hesitation and buy a large number of high-quality U.S. assets. At that time, there were even Japanese people discussing whether they could buy the whole of America with money.
But what happened next is known to everyone. The United States forced Japan to sign the Plaza Accord through both military and political pressure, and the impact of this agreement on Japan was very fatal.
After the Plaza Accord was signed, the yen was forced to begin to appreciate rapidly. The appreciation of the yen means that American companies can enter the Japanese market on a larger scale.
Japan's commodity exports, on the other hand, have been devastated. At that time, Japan's status was similar to that of China today, and Japanese products were sold all over the world.
The fundamental reason for the popularity of Japanese products is that they are of good quality, large and cheap. However, the yen has been forced to appreciate, and the yen has no way to form a trading system of its own, so they must use the US dollar for settlement. As a result, Japanese products can only be forced to appreciate, and Japanese industry can no longer develop vigorously.
The decades following the signing of the Plaza Accord have been called the decades that Japan lost. In recent years, Japan's economy has basically stood still, and there has not been much improvement.
Although technology and society have also developed, the economy has always been half-dead.
And Japan will encounter this predicament because they do not have a strong military force. Therefore, in the face of the blockade and suppression of the United States, there is almost no ability to fight back. The Japanese Government has to do whatever the United States asks Japan to do.
Even these Japanese governments know that some of the agreements they have signed with the United States are tantamount to betraying Japan's national interests. It may even bring Japan to its knees, but they have no other choice. If the United States really wants to make a move against Japan, Japan will not be able to stop it at all.
The example of Japan also shows how important a strong army is to the country. During the Cold War, China's comprehensive national strength was far inferior to that of the United States and Western countries.
However, even the Soviet Union and the United States did not dare to speak lightly of a war with China, precisely because China was also a military power at that time, and we still had nuclear weapons. Therefore, when there is money, giving priority to the development of military forces should be a basic consensus in itself.
3. The income of China's tobacco is unusually huge
Finally, let's talk about why Chinese smokers are so concerned about military spending. This is mainly because China Tobacco is one of the companies with the largest profit and the largest revenue among all enterprises in the mainland.
The annual revenue of Chinese tobacco is more than 1,000 billion yuan. The money earned by China Tobacco alone is enough to fund the People's Liberation Army for a year.
So in this case, there are some smokers who put forward a hypothesis. As long as they smoke more, China Tobacco will make more money, and the PLA's military spending will grow faster!
Of course, this is just an assumption. But it also makes everyone intuitively feel that the Chinese attach importance to the development of the mainland's military strength.
In foreign countries, in fact, some people have always talked about this matter. They say that we increase our military spending every year, but we also claim that we love peace, so they think China is hypocritical.
But such a statement is very ridiculous. China really loves peace, but we also need a strong military force, because China is the country that knows best how much harm war can bring.
Since the Opium War, China has been in a position of blockade and suppression. The wars of foreign aggression against China over the years have brought us incalculable losses. So the Chinese hate war, we love peace.
But there are people who don't love peace, like the United States. Until now, the US Navy fleet has not been less likely to appear in China's vicinity to cause trouble, either passing through the Taiwan Strait or advancing into the South China Sea.
Some time ago, the United States and the Philippines also held large-scale joint military exercises. The United States has sent more than 16,000 soldiers to the Philippines alone.
Then, in the case that our national defense and security are already under great threat, what we can do is to increase military spending and strengthen our military strength. After all, the United States is a country that has no moral bottom line.
If we don't have a strong military, the final result will not be much better than Japan's. But China doesn't want to be Japan.
Since the first day of the founding of the People's Republic of China, we have followed an independent development strategy. We will never allow any country to exploit us again, nor will we sign unequal treaties with any country again.
So not to mention that there is money now, even if there is no money, I believe that there will be countless people who will tighten their belts and develop military power. Because the army is the foundation of the country.
If you don't have an army, you will always be bullied and have no ability to fight back. Naturally, China gives priority to peace in its treatment of those friendly countries. But for those countries that are not very friendly, forget it separately.
If I had to use a common saying, it would be, friends come, and there is good wine. But when the enemy comes, you can only see shotguns!
Epilogue:
In the future, China's military spending will definitely become even more, after all, compared to the United States, our military spending is still too small. At the very least, military spending must reach half of that of the United States, or even six or seven percent of that of the United States, in order to basically guarantee China's security.
I also hope that some foreign netizens will stop misunderstanding China. Even if they can't see China's military spending increase, they have to go to the United States first. The United States increases its military spending more every year than China.
Moreover, China is not the only country in the world that is increasing military spending. European countries, Japan, India, and even South Korea are increasing their military spending.
So why didn't anyone accuse them? Only when China increases its military spending, will there be so many crazy accusations from foreign media, isn't this a double standard?
References:
Yilin talks about the world2024-03-06 China's military spending breaks 1.6 trillion! How is it still too little? Smokers: pay more for the military, pay less for the reparations!
Bao Ming said that China's military spending reached 1.45 trillion yuan on 2022-03-11, why do we still have to say not enough
2024-03-06China's military spending has increased to 1.6 trillion, and the United States is seriously dissatisfied! Just over 1,000 yuan per capita, is it a lot?