China boosts its defence spending by 7% after threatening US with 'any war' amid Trump's tariff roll-out... so how do the two superpowers' armed forces measure up?

Sabre-rattling China is set to boost its defence spending by 7.2% after threatening America with 'any war' amid a furious row over Donald Trump's planned tariffs.

The communist state announced the huge military spending boost as global tensions soared yesterday with Beijing and Washington both declaring themselves ready for conflict. 

Tensions between the US and China have soared to dizzying heights in recent days, with American president Donald Trump this week increasing tariffs on all Chinese products to 20% over allegations China was fuelling a fentanyl crisis in the States. 

After refusing to back down on the enormous tariffs on China, which now sit at an enormous 20%, Beijing has promised to 'fight to the end.'

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: 'Exerting extreme pressure on China is the wrong target and the wrong calculation … If the US has other intentions and insists on a tariff war, trade war or any other war, China will fight to the end. 

'We advise the US to put away its bullying face and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation as soon as possible.'

The Chinese embassy in the US added: 'If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end.'

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said in response that the US is 'prepared' to go to war with China, telling Fox: 'Those who long for peace must prepare for war. that's why we're rebuilding our military. 

'If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, we have to be strong, and that president understands peace comes through strength,' Hegseth added.

The question of who would win in an all-out war, however, remains unanswered. 

2024 military budget

Here, the US trumps China -  for now.  

The US is the best funded military force in the world, last year spending £653billion ($841billion) on defence. 

China falls significantly behind on this measure, spending £191billion (1.78 trillion Chinese yuan) on defence. 

China also falls behind on proportions, with its military budget accounting for just 1.7% of its GDP. 

This is half the proportion of the US' spend on its military, which is 3.4%. 

But this imbalance could shift this year, as yesterday announced a 7.2% increase in its military budget as it continues to build and develop its army to assert itself on the world stage.  

The budget, which adds up to about $245 billion, was announced at the National People's Congress, the annual meeting of China's legislature. 

The Pentagon and many experts say China's total spending on defense may be 40% higher or more because of items included under other budgets.

Despite the US' government-wide cull of the civil service, including the military, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said last month that he was seeking to increase overall US defence spending. 

Referring to DOGE, the Elon Musk-headed group in charge of auditing and cutting vast swathes of the US government, Hegseth said during his first overseas trip: 'There's plenty of places (at the Pentagon) where we want the keen eye of DOGE, but we'll do it in coordination.

'We're not going to do things that are to the detriment of American operational or tactical capabilities', he added. 

Nuclear warheads 

The US, again, outguns China in this measure, at least according to official statistics. 

Including retired warheads that are yet to be dismantled, the US has 5,177 nuclear warheads, each of which is capable of levelling cities. 

China, meanwhile, is estimated to have just 500. China does not officially disclose the number of nuclear weapons it has, as it considers this information a state secret. 

But the makeup of these nuclear weapons is as important as the number each nation owns. 

China has heavily invested in its warhead modernisation programme, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, by increasing the types of missiles and the number of this. 

According to a 2023 Pentagon report to Congress, this arsenal will increase to 1,000 by 2030, many of which will probably be 'deployed at higher readiness levels' and most 'fielded on systems capable of ranging the [continental United States]'.

The US, by comparison, is having to retire 1,477 nuclear warheads due to their age and the spiralling costs of maintaining them. 

But, it appears that the US may be pushing to expand the global reach of its nuclear warheads. 

The Telegraph reported this week that satellite evidence suggested that the UK may play host to American nuclear weapons for the first time in nearly two decades. 

Battleships

The US has 297 battle ships under its command, while China has 234. 

China has in recent weeks been making moves against American allies, which has worried many nations around the world. 

Chinese warships have been circumnavigating Australia's coastline for three weeks, and has been staging unprecedented live-dire drills next to New Zealand, both of which are in the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance. 

On top of this, Xi Jinping's warships have been spotted near Vietnam and Taiwan. 

And in the wake of Trump's global shakeup of the US' longstanding alliances, many are worried that they will be left to fend for themselves. 

'It does raise issues as to whether the US will be committed to regional security. And even if the US remains committed, what will the Trump administration ask in return?,  Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore told CNN. 

Active personnel 

As the second-largest nation in the world, China has plenty of people to bring into their military. 

As a result, the nation's army vastly outnumbers the US', with an estimated two million active service members compared to the US' 450,000. 

And it has been building the infrastructure to deal with the sheer number of troops. Last month, the FT revealed the country is building a military command centre outside Beijing that is estimated to be 10 times larger than the Pentagon. 

'If confirmed, this new advanced underground command bunker for the military leadership, including President Xi as the chairman of the Central Military Commission, signals Beijing's intent to build not only a world-class conventional force but also an advanced nuclear warfighting capability,' said Dennis Wilder, the former head of China analysis for the CIA, told the newspaper. 

Armoured fighting vehicle fleet 

Despite having around a quarter of the troops China does, the US' armoured fighting vehicle fleet vastly outnumbers the Asian nation's. 

The US has 392,000 vehicles at its command, compared to China's 144,000. 

But military reports suggest China is seeking to integrate AI systems into its military vehicles, potentially boosting their capabilities. 

This week, a white paper published by Chongqing Landship Information Technology, an autonomous driving solution provider, revealed it was working to integrate Chinese AI DeepSeek into vehicles. 

'In military strategic planning, DeepSeek can conduct in-depth analysis of massive intelligence information and provide military commanders with accurate decision-making support', the paper read. 

'DeepSeek has powerful language understanding and generation capabilities, allowing it to adapt to battlefield tasks quickly', the authors added. 

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) 

Officially, China and the US can go toe-to-toe on the ICBM field, each nation carrying 400 each. 

The US' ICBM catalogue is made up of just two types of missiles - The Minuteman, which is launched from land, and the Trident, a sea-based missile. 

China, meanwhile, has at least six different types of missiles, each with their own ranges and capabilities.

Last month, the US tested an unarmed Minuteman III from the Western Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. 

Acting Secretary of the Air Force Gary Ashworth said at the time that the 'test launch is just one of the ways the Department of the Air Force demonstrates the readiness, precision, and professionalism of U.S. nuclear forces.'

He added: 'It also provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation's nuclear deterrence mission.'

Air Force size 

By this measure, the US just about beats China, with 5,500 aerial vehicles in its air force. 

China, meanwhile, has 4,500 vehicles. 

But China has been heavily innovating its fighter jets, so much so that American generals admitted today that they need to make some hard choices in the future if the US wants to compete with China's next-generation aircraft.

At the annual Air & Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium, held in Colorado, US Air Combat Commander Kenneth Wilsbach said: 'We have some choices to make as we observe what China has produced, and we can presume we know what that's for – for air superiority. 

'What are we going to do about it? I don't believe that nothing is an option,' he said.

Wilsbach was referring to two of China's sixth-generation aircraft prototypes. 

Though details have been kept from the public, many believe they vastly outperform current-gen aircraft, and will play a key role in wars in the near-future. 

Number of bases worldwide

Officially, China has just three military bases around the world, in Djibouti, Tajikistan and Cambodia. 

This official number pales in comparison to the more than 800 bases the US has across the world. 

But a 2024 intelligence assessment by the US' Office of the Director of National Intelligence revealed People's Liberation Army was pursuing footholds including, but not limited to, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, and the UAE. 

China's Belt and Road Initiative, the massive trillion-dollar global investment programme that seeks to exert influence over vast swathes of the world, is making Xi Jinping's attempts to establish military outposts easier. 

Tanks 

China beats the US on this measure, with 6,900 tanks to its name compared to the US' 5,500. 

But the US has been supplies massive numbers of tanks to its allies, much to the chagrin in China. 

In December, Taiwan received its first batch of 108 Abrams tanks from the US. 

It was the first time new tanks had been delivered to the contested island in 30 years. 

The US initially sent 38 tanks which were sent to an army training base in 

Hsinchu in the southern part of the capital Taipei, the defence ministry said. 

A further 42 are expected this year, and 28 are set to be delivered by 2026, though given the massive shakeup Trump has put the US through, it is not currently known if Taiwan will receive these tanks. 

Submarines 

It's close, but the US just about pips China on this measure, with 71 submarines compared to China's 66. 

Today, Chinese submarines were seen aggressively circling Perth, where the USS Minnesota, a nuclear submarine, is currently based. 

The move came amid the continuation of the AUKUS trilateral security alliance, established in 2021 with the aim of equipping Australia with nuclear-powere submarines. 

The pact has been framed as a way to strengthen deterrence against China and anti-West adversaries, and to promote a 'free and open Indo-Pacific.'