China's Military Spending Significantly Higher Than Official Figures, Analysts Say
• Beijing's real military spending likely 30-40% higher than reported figure of $230 billion in 2022 • China spends huge sums on military research not captured in budget reports • China benefits from civil-military fusion allowing access to civilian tech • China able to stretch budget further by paying soldiers far less than US • Analysts say Pentagon underestimates threat posed by China's military spending