When comparing China vs USA military, one cannot simply make a simple comparison between technology. It is not so easy to compare their systems and the way these two sides develop technologies. Let us compare their systems in this respect. First of all the US military has always kept a close eye on its enemies and tries to develop the best weapons systems possible. China on the other hand does not spend as much money on its military as the US does. This means that they are always trying to steal or buy other countries’ technology.
One aspect is for sure; China has always been a thief. When it comes to stealing other countries’ technology and information, no one can match China. We all know that the United States has always been a creditor nation and has spent its budget on its own research and development department. Whereas China likes to invest the money it acquires from various industries, especially in the IT and defense fields, the country has developed its own copyright act that prohibits the pirating of intellectual property.
Another important point in this regard is the technological superiority. The Chinese military has a number of advanced weapons and military equipment, which the Americans do not have even to talk about. It has a number of fighter planes, helicopters, stealth fighters, nuclear submarines, destroyers and other strategic weapons. But the US military does have some superior technological items like the F-22 stealth fighter jet, EA-18 strike fighter, tank destroyers and the like.
In fact there is a saying in the military circles that the US will be the first to launch a strike on China. But this is not exactly how it happened. The Chinese built the fastest and the best military in the world but the US was not prepared to meet the Chinese challenge. Hence China felt threatened and hence built up its technological superiority over time. Now the question is that why should the US fear China so much?
China Vs Usa Military
There are many reasons. The first one is economic. The United States has always been a world leader in terms of economic power. And it was also a major player economically in the World during the cold war. China built up huge economic wealth while the US was busy trying to defeat the Soviet Union.
Secondly the Chinese are aggressively acquiring foreign military equipment and technology for its military. There is a report that the Chinese military spends more on its defense spending than the rest of the world combined. In fact it is said that the current military budget is more than the entire defense budgets of Pakistan, India, Taiwan, and the Philippines put together. So this is not an idle threat. On the contrary the United States military is working very hard to modernize its equipment and ensure that it remains the most modernized in the world.
Additionally, the Chinese are buying much more US military equipment than they are buying from their friends in Europe and Japan. This is because they have much better control over their currency which makes imports very expensive. And the economies of these European and Japanese allies aren’t doing so well that they need to import their goods at such high prices to make up the deficit. So this means that the Chinese are getting a leg up on us in terms of military spending without us having to do anything at all.
All of this means that China has become the economic leader and the military leader in the world. Therefore, China needs to keep a wary eye on their neighbors and what they are doing in their own military. In fact, a recent article by the Financial Times suggested that China should be worried about Japan right now: “Chinese officials are publicly blaming Japan for stoking regional tensions with its territorial ambitions. The two countries have been locked in a dispute over islands, disputed waters and other issues for the past two months”. Although I don’t necessarily agree with the assessment that China has been taking too much control over its neighbors, I do believe that it is important to monitor the economic trends of our Asian friends to ensure that they aren’t moving toward war (which could lead to nuclear proliferation).
- The Importance of Standard Operating Procedures in Manufacturing - April 26, 2024
- The Art and Science Behind Glass Engineering - January 2, 2024
- The Intersection of Physical and Cyber Battlespaces - October 19, 2023
