Military Spending Comparison
China has continued increase its military spending. Reasons include:
- The People's Republic of China's (PRC's) strategy aims to achieve "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" by 2049. China's strategy can be characterized as a determined pursuit of political and social modernity that includes far-ranging efforts to expand China's national power, perfect its governance systems, and revise the international order.
- The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) frames this strategy as an effort to realize long-held nationalist aspirations to "return" China to a position of strength, prosperity, and leadership on the world stage.
- The PRC pursues its Military-Civil Fusion Development Strategy to "fuse" its economic and social development strategies with its security strategies to build an integrated national strategic system and capabilities in support of China's national rejuvenation goals.
- China's leaders stress the imperative of meeting key military transformation markers set in 2020 and 2035. These milestones seek to align the PLA's transformation with China's overall national modernization so that by the end of 2049, China will field a "world-class" military.
- The CCP has not defined what it means by its ambition to have a "world-class" military. Within the context of China's national strategy, however, it is likely that China will aim to develop a military by mid-century that is equal to—or in some cases superior to—the U.S. military, or that of any other great power that China views as a threat to its sovereignty, security, and development interests.
- The People's Liberation Army Army (PLAA) is the largest standing ground force in the world. In 2019, the PLAA continued to transition into a modern, mobile, and lethal ground force by fielding upgraded combat systems and communications equipment and enhancing its ability to conduct and manage complex combined-arms and joint operations.
- The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)—the largest navy in the world—is an increasingly modern and flexible force that has focused on replacing previous generations of platforms with limited capabilities in favor of larger, modern multi-role combatants. As of 2019, the PLAN is largely composed of modern multi-role platforms featuring advanced anti-ship, antiair, and anti-submarine weapons and sensors.
- The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and PLAN Aviation together constitute the largest aviation forces in the region and the third largest in the world, with over 2,500 total aircraft and approximately 2,000 combat aircraft. The PLAAF is rapidly catching up to Western air forces across a broad range of capabilities and competencies.
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