China set a defence budget growth target of 7.5 percent in 2019, slower than last year but still enough to fulfill President Xi Jinping’s plans to build a world-class military. If China’s economic slowdown lasts only a year or two, it’s unlikely to derail Xi’s goals, which are long term and incremental, said Richard Bitzinger, who studies military modernisation as a senior fellow at Singapore’s RSIS. Slower growth over the long term could ‘force a rethink’ of plans including a bigger military, he said.