China’s ‘Two Sessions’ Open Amid Increased Defense Spending, Military Purge, and Iran Uncertainty

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Mar 6, 2026 - 11:01 Updated: Mar 6, 2026 - 10:47
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China’s ‘Two Sessions’ Open Amid Increased Defense Spending, Military Purge, and Iran Uncertainty

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News Analysis
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As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) convenes its most important annual political meetings this week, a series of developments, including rising military spending, a deepening purge within the armed forces, and upheaval in Iran, are converging at a sensitive time for Beijing.
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The meetings, known as the “Two Sessions,” bring together the country’s top legislative and political advisory bodies to signal policy priorities for the year ahead. Analysts say this year’s gathering is unfolding against an unusually complex political and geopolitical backdrop.

The ‘Two Sessions’ and Defense Spending

The Two Sessions involve the National People’s Congress (NPC), the CCP’s rubber-stamp congress, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the CCP’s top political advisory body. The CPPCC session started on March 4, and the NPC session started on March 5. Both will last eight days.

The Two Sessions center on the government work report and a draft outline for China’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan. However, for some analysts, the immediate focus is on Beijing’s newly announced growth target for 2026, which is the lowest in decades, at a range of 4.5 percent to 5 percent.

The sessions traditionally focus on government policy plans and long-term development strategies, but analysts have said that one closely watched issue this year is China’s defense spending.

Chinese state media outlet the Global Times reported on March 5 that the CCP’s rubber-stamp congress just unveiled a 7 percent increase to the regime’s defense budget, at roughly $275 billion. This is a slight decline from the 7.2 percent increase in each of the past three years.

Sun Kuo-hsiang, a professor of international affairs and business at Nanhua University in Taiwan, told The Epoch Times that for China’s leadership, defense spending is not merely a response to external threats but a core political priority. Even during economic slowdowns, military outlays have consistently grown faster than the overall economy.

He described defense spending as a rigid expenditure tied to regime security, deterrence in the Taiwan Strait, military–civil fusion in technology, and competition with major powers.

“The worse China’s economy performs,” he said, “the less likely the CCP is to cut military spending.”

A Deepening Military Purge

The political backdrop is equally unsettled.
On Jan. 24, Beijing abruptly announced the removal of two senior military leaders—Zhang Youxia, a vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, another commission member. The move disrupted the CCP’s military and political establishment.
Sun said the purge has dented the perception that Chinese leader Xi Jinping exercises unchallenged control over the armed forces, noting that Zhang had long been seen as a close ally. The dismissals also affected cohesion within the military command structure.

Personnel cuts have extended beyond the top ranks.

In late February, the NPC Standing Committee announced that 19 national-level lawmakers, including nine senior military officers, had lost their seats. Over the past two years, roughly 36 military deputies have been removed.
The current NPC, which began with 2,977 delegates, now has 2,878—a net reduction of 99 members. The CPPCC has also shrunk by several dozen members, although the regime has not released a consolidated figure.

Iran War and Energy Risks

Events in the Middle East have added another layer of uncertainty.
Following U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran, Iranian leader Ali Khamenei died on Feb. 28 after more than three decades in power. The upheaval has drawn scrutiny in Beijing.
According to analytics firm Kpler, 80 percent of Iranian oil exports were bound for China. Iran is also a strategic node in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, and in 2021, the two countries signed a 25-year comprehensive cooperation agreement covering energy, infrastructure, and security cooperation.

U.S.-based China current affairs commentator Wang He told The Epoch Times that prolonged instability in Iran could disrupt China’s oil shipments. Because China’s oil import dependence exceeds 70 percent, any sustained supply shortage from Iran could pose serious economic challenges.

Insiders have said that Khamenei’s death carries symbolic weight as well. Beijing has long opposed what it calls “foreign interference” in sovereign states, and the assassination of the Iranian leader could be viewed by the CCP as a troubling precedent.

According to a Beijing-based insider who spoke to The Epoch Times on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisal, the CCP’s senior leaders have held multiple meetings to assess the Middle East situation and its potential domestic impact, including the possibility that unrest abroad could influence public opinion at home.

Together, rising defense spending, ongoing military purges, and geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East have created a complex backdrop for this year’s Two Sessions, highlighting the range of internal and external challenges confronting Beijing as the leadership sets priorities for the coming year.

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Smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital of Tehran on March 5, 2026. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

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Ning Haizhong and Luo Ya contributed to this report. 

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