China is spending as much on defence as on domestic security. It has earmarked $370 bn to combat increasing mass protests.
Since 2007, the country has been witnessing more than 90,000 mass protests every year, according to researchers at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
In Xinjiang province, where riots claimed almost 200 lives last year, the security budget has been doubled while some other provinces like Liaoning have set apart 15per cent of their budget for police.
Modernisation of police and their weapons is another priority area across all provinces.
China also is creating a new force of five million private security guards this year. They will be the unofficial police at the disposal of the Ministry of Public Security, which has hiked its budget by 44 per cent higher than in 2008.
