China ranks #2 of 170 militaries worldwide in 2026, with 2,035,000 active troops. The Chinese Army fields 26,250 ground vehicles, including 6,800 main battle tanks; the Air Force flies 6,341 aircraft, including 3,222 combat aircraft; the Navy operates 1,005 warships, including 3 aircraft carriers and 62 submarines. China is a nuclear power with an estimated 620 warheads.
| Domain | Strength | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| People's Liberation Army Air Force | 6,341 aircraft | 3,222 combat 234 bombers 1,549 helicopters 88 air bases +130 on order |
| People's Liberation Army Navy | 1,005 warships | 183 major combatants 3 carriers 62 submarines 15 naval bases |
| Ground Forces | 26,250 vehicles | 6,800 main battle tanks |
| Nuclear Forces | 620 warheads | 34 deployed Air, Sea, Land Active |
| Personnel | 2,035,000 active | 510,000 reserve 1,500,000 paramilitary |
| Pillar | Weight | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manpower | 10% | 100.0 | Active, reserve & paramilitary personnel |
| Ground forces | 20% | 94.2 | ARMS inventory power: armour & artillery by type and era, attack helicopters, armament |
| Naval power | 20% | 95.5 | SEAS inventory power: hulls by type, size and era, air wing, sustainment, armament |
| Air power | 25% | 88.7 | AIRS inventory power: aircraft by type and generation, enablers, armament |
| Nuclear deterrent | 10% | 58.2 | Warhead count with delivery-mode modifiers |
| Defense budget | 15% | 86.0 | Annual spending, purchasing-power adjusted |
| Availability | modifier | ground ×1.15 · naval ×0.98 · air ×0.98 | Budget per point of each force, from the branch indexes |
| Population | 1409M (2024) |
| GDP | $18.7 trillion (2024) |
| GDP per capita | $13,303 |
| Military budget | $281B (2024) |
| Share of GDP | 1.5% (2024) |
| Military spending per capita | $200 (2024) |
| Inflation rate | 0.22% (2024) |
| Capital | Beijing |
| Region | Asia |
| Land area | 9,326,410 km² |
| Coastline | 14,500 km |
| Land borders | 22,147 km |
| Bordering countries | 14 |
| Currency | CNY |
China’s defense posture is defined by the objective of national rejuvenation and the preservation of territorial integrity. Primary security concerns center on the status of Taiwan, maritime disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea, and the contested border with India. A 2025 defense white paper elevated maritime rights and interests to a strategic priority equivalent to sovereignty and regime security.
China is a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and maintains a "comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination" with Russia. It also maintains a formal mutual defense treaty with North Korea. Military doctrine emphasizes "active defense," which combines a defensive strategic posture with offensive operational and tactical capabilities. Current priorities focus on "intelligentized" warfare—the integration of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and big data into multi-domain operations.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is directed by the Central Military Commission (CMC). Following a structural reorganization, the PLA consists of four services and four independent arms. Total active-duty personnel is approximately 2 million.
China maintains an extensive domestic defense-industrial complex composed primarily of state-owned enterprises. Major entities include:
Domestic production achieves high levels of self-sufficiency, though some reliance on advanced foreign semiconductors and specific aero-engine technologies persists. China is a major arms exporter, supplying J-10C fighters and Type 054A/P frigates to Pakistan and providing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and armored vehicles to various markets in the Middle East and Africa.
The 2026 national defense budget is 1.91 trillion yuan (approximately $275 billion), representing a 7% increase from 2025. Official figures place defense spending at approximately 1.3% to 1.4% of GDP.
Current modernization programs prioritize the "2027 Centenary Goal," which aims to accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informatization, and intelligentization. Procurement focus is shifting toward autonomous systems, hypersonic weaponry, and the expansion of the nuclear triad. The PLAN is expected to expand its carrier force with the continued development of the Type 004 class. Doctrinally, the PLA is transitioning from theater-level defense to global power projection, supported by the establishment of overseas logistical facilities and expanded blue-water naval operations.
Taiwan's Cabinet on September 3, 2026 approved a NT$145.7 billion (US$4.6 billion) defense allocation within a NT$607.63 billion supplementary budget, covering two classified programs, three uncrewed-systems programs and the Chiang Kung anti-ballistic missile system, pending a legislative vote.
Just 20 of the 162 air forces tracked by GlobalMilitary.net operate airborne early warning aircraft in 2026; the United States leads with 98, but 83 are carrier-based Navy Hawkeyes, leaving the US Air Force with 15 aging E-3 Sentries against China's 81 land-based radar aircraft.
Uzbekistan confirmed its first J-10CE fighters on August 28 and Bangladesh moved toward a $2.3 billion order for 20 more; GlobalMilitary.net inventories show China's exported combat fleet still rests on 495 MiG derivatives designed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Russia's Yars test from Plesetsk on August 27, 2026 is a reminder that intercontinental ballistic missiles remain the preserve of five states: GlobalMilitary.net counts twelve ICBM designs in service, four of them Russian and only one American.
The US Navy disclosed the Raytheon-built AIM-424 Malice at the Tailhook symposium in Reno on 22 August 2026: a 1,500-pound two-stage weapon credited with more than 250 nautical miles of reach, destined for the Super Hornet, the F-35C and the future F/A-XX.
Satellite imagery dated 11 August 2026 shows the Paracel Islands feature turned into a 3.7-mile landmass with a deep-water quay and a 10,000-foot runway under grading, ten months after dredging began.