Advertisement
Explainer | US-China rivalry: who has the stronger military?
- China has the weight of numbers on its side, but America has various technological and financial advantages
- The PLA intends to become a modern fighting force within the next six years, but will need to overcome problems with training and equipment
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
99+
China is pushing ahead with plans to turn the People’s Liberation Army into a modern fighting force by 2027 – the centenary of its founding – as tensions with the US build.
Advertisement
One senior US commander has called China “the pacing threat for the next decade” and Washington is ramping up support for Taiwan as the island faces growing political and military pressure from Beijing. Meanwhile analysts have warned that the South China Sea could be the tipping point for a military conflict between the two.
Read on to see whether the US or China’s military is stronger in areas such as total manpower, military expenditure and land, sea and air capabilities.
Military expenditure: US
The US is by far the world’s biggest spender, with a budget estimated at US$778 billion last year, accounting for 39 per cent of total global military expenditure, according to data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
China was a distant second with an estimated expenditure of US$252 billion.
07:49
SCMP Explains: China’s growing role in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa
SCMP Explains: China’s growing role in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa
However, US analysts warned that Washington must keep pace with Beijing on military spending, after China announced a 6.8 per cent increase in defence funding this year following more than two decades of steady increases.
Total manpower: China
Advertisement