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Military power of China & European Union EU

China vs European Union EU

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China European Union EU

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

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union countries that are located in Europe with an area of 4,233,255 km² The capital of Ukraine is Brussels. The number of inhabitants estimated is about 447 million. Members of EU: Germany, Latvia, France, Lithuania, Estonia, Portugal, Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Sweden, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

The European Union were not devised as a military alliance because most of the members are in the North Atlantic Alliance. Since the withdrawal of the UK, France is the only member recognised as a nuclear weapon state. Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium participate in NATO nuclear sharing.

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

Military expenditures

Military budget

408 billion $

295.8 billion $

Percent of GDP

1.7 %

0 %

Manpower

Active personnel

2,035,000

1,277,969

Reserve personnel

2,000,000

1,687,132

Available for military

385,821,101

92,594,951

Land Forces

Tanks

5,750

4,244

Armoured fighting vehicles

14,130

29,656

Total artillery

7,094

6,056

Self-propelled artillery

2,720

1,856

Rocket artillery

3,140

674

Air Forces

Total aircraft

4,630

5,350

Fighter

1,049

415

Multirole

1,130

883

Attack

120

142

Helicopters

1,355

2,336

UCAV (combat drone)

151

68

Navy

Total naval

742

1,306

Aircraft carriers

4

7

Destroyers

38

18

Frigates

54

69

Corvettes

73

23

Submarines

74

48

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.

European Union EU

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.

European Union EU

Data not available