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Military power of China & BRICS

China vs BRICS

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China BRICS

China is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 9,596,961 km² (land boundries: 22,457 km and costline 14,500 km). The capital of China is Beijing. The number of inhabitants is 1,444,390,177.

The People's Liberation Army is the military arm of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which oversees the PLA through its Central Military Commission. The PLA is outfitted primarily with a wide mix of older and modern domestically-produced systems heavily influenced by technology derived from other countries. Russia is the main supplier military equipment outside the domestic industry.

More about China military

BRICS (acronym - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Bilateral relations among BRICS are conducted mainly on the basis of non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit. The BRICS nations are considered a geopolitical rival to the G7 bloc.

On August 24, 2023, the expansion of the group on January 1, 2024 was announced to include Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. On 29 December 2023 the Government of Argentina officially announce that Argentina will not join the BRICS. This is due to the change of president to Javier Milei.

If you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com

Military expenditures

Military budget

408 billion $

642.8 billion $

Percent of GDP

1.7 %

0 %

Manpower

Active personnel

2,035,000

6,345,000

Reserve personnel

2,000,000

7,754,000

Available for military

385,821,101

992,083,395

Land Forces

Tanks

6,100

30,277

Armoured fighting vehicles

15,880

72,901

Total artillery

6,890

40,650

Self-propelled artillery

3,390

12,316

Rocket artillery

3,000

11,343

Air Forces

Total aircraft

5,225

15,826

Fighter

837

1,484

Multirole

1,498

2,830

Attack

254

1,330

Helicopters

1,223

5,511

UCAV (combat drone)

160

393

Navy

Total naval

762

2,809

Aircraft carriers

6

12

Destroyers

50

77

Frigates

47

105

Corvettes

72

215

Submarines

72

194

Nuclear weapons

China

The last of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT, which at this moment possesses approximately 280 nuclear warheads in total. Nevertheless, the number of deployed bombs is unknown. The first test that occurred to be successful occurred in 1964. The main goal of Chinese was to build a deterrent against two major nuclear powers, namely The United States as well as The Soviet Union. The nation decided to choose dried lake for the nuclear site, Lop Nur. Although China developed and tested its first atomic device only in 1964, they managed to test their first hydrogen bomb only 32 months later. As a result, they can boast with the shortest period between developing fission and fusion technology.

China managed to conduct 45 tests of nuclear weapons. Still, the data regarding the stockpile of accumulated warheads is uncertain. The same thing concerns the number of deployed warheads. It is all due to the limited information that the country provides. We should also bear in mind that they are the only country out of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT that does not give a positive security assurance.

BRICS

Data not available

Military service

China

18-24 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with a 2-year service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs; a recent military decision allows women in combat roles.

BRICS

Data not available