Military power of France & China
France vs China
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France is a country located in
metropolitan France: Western Europe with an area of 640,679 km2 (land boundries: 3,956 km and costline 4,853 km
metropolitan France:>3,427 km). The capital of France is Paris. The number of inhabitants is 67,413,000.
France was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty, which created NATO in 1949. France and the UK signed in 2010 a declaration on defense and security cooperation that included greater military interoperability and a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force. The CJEF was assessed as having full operating capacity with the ability to rapidly deploy over 10,000 personnel. The French military's inventory consists mostly of domestically-produced weapons systems, including some jointly-produced with other European countries. France has a defense industry capable of manufacturing the full spectrum of military weapons systems.
More about France militaryChina 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 militaryIf you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com
Military expenditures
 FR |  CN | |
|---|---|---|
| Military budget: | 54 billion $ | 293 billion $ |
| Percent of GDP: | 1.7% | 1.7% |
Manpower
| FR | CN | |
|---|---|---|
| Active personnel: | 208,750 | 2,035,000 |
| Reserve personnel: | 141,050 | 2,000,000 |
| Available for military: | 14,563,662 | 385,821,101 |
Land Forces
| FR | CN | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks: | 406 | 5,750 | |
| Armoured fighting vehicles: | 6,463 | 14,130 | |
| Total artillery: | 134 | 7,094 | |
| Self-propelled artillery: | 109 | 2,720 | |
| Rocket artillery: | 13 | 3,140 |
Air Forces
| FR | CN | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total aircraft: | 1,253 | 4,630 | |
| Fighter aircraft: | 56 | 1,049 | |
| Multirole aircraft: | 146 | 1,130 | |
| Attack aircraft: | 86 | 120 | |
| Helicopters: | 540 | 1,355 | |
| UCAV (combat drone): | 12 | 151 |
Navy
| FR | CN | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total naval: | 111 | 742 | |
| Aircraftcarriers: | 4 | 4 | |
| Destroyers: | 11 | 38 | |
| Frigates: | 11 | 54 | |
| Corvettes: | 0 | 73 | |
| Submarines: | 10 | 74 |
☢ Nuclear weapons
France
France managed to research and develop its own nuclear weapon in 1960. The test, known as, Gerboise Bleue, was the result of mostly French research. One of the main figures that played crucial role in the entire process of developing the bomb was General Pierre Marie Gallois. He was concerned that the Suez Crisis, which started in 1956, would show the world how insignificant France became, since out of all Great Powers in the world, they were the only one without possessing its own nuclear arsenal. The tests were conducted on the terrains of Sahara Desert.
At this moment France owns 300 nuclear warheads, out of which almost all are deployed. What is more, compared to Great Britain, they made more tests, approximately 210. Noteworthy is the fact that the development of the first nuclear bomb in France as well as its tests were a bit controversial. It was due to the fact that France allowed Israeli observers to attend the tests, providing them with almost unrestricted access to all the data. It was quite important, since Israel, together with United Kingdom and France, were trying to invade Egypt.
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.
Military service
France
18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; 1-year service obligation; women serve in noncombat post.
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.