US vs. China: Which has the largest number of troops and the best arsenal?

The war has not started. Nor is it expected. However, the two great world powers are prepared for any conflict that may start and in which they are involved. Or, directly, in which they are at odds. For now, they can only argue about which of the two has the most sophisticated and advanced arsenal, the largest number of troops or the strongest defensive systems. To try to be better than their 'rival', the United States and China are focusing their efforts on improving and developing their armed forces.

That debate about which is better or which can be more effective on the battlefield has led to analyze each of the armed forces of the two great world powers. And the conclusion is that, in some respects, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) 'wins' and, in others, the U.S. Armed Forces.

Number of troops of the U.S. Armed Forces and the PLA

The first aspect to confront is the number of divisions they have. In the case of the United States, the Armed Forces have six - the Army (USA), the Navy (USN), the Air Force (USAF), the Marine Corps (USMC), the Space Force (USSF) and the Coast Guard (USCG) - while the PLA consists of five -Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Missile Force and Strategic Support Force -.

Regarding troop strength, the PLA - which shows allegiance to the Communist Party of China (CPC), not the country - has some 2,545,000 soldiers, according to reported to the Global Fire Power (GFP) website, distributed among 2,035,000 active members and 510,000 reservists. The Ground Force is the largest division, with around 1,600,000 combatants.

For its part, the U.S. Armed Forces have some 2,127,500 soldiers on the payroll, divided into 1,328,000 active and 799,500 in reserve, according to collected GFP. With 1,403,200 members, the Army is the largest division of the six.

Budget

A few days before leaving the White House, former President Joe Biden signed a Defense budget of $895 billion by 2025. And, for this year, that is what it is. However, his successor and now president, Donald Trump, has already let slip that next year he will increase it and has even stated that he wants to increase soldiers' pay.

China's defense budget is markedly lower than that of the United States: the PLA has 266.85 billion dollars for 2025. However, as the years go by, the amount increases and the communist regime has already announced that it will increase it again in the next period.

Nuclear armament

China and the USA are two of the nine countries that have nuclear weapons. Besides them, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. There are others - such as Saudi Arabia, Iran or Armenia - that are suspected of having and others, at some point in history, had - Kazakhstan, Ukraine and South Africa.

According to a report by the Arms Control Association, the Pentagon has 5,225 nuclear warheads, the second country with the most -behind Russia-, while the communist regime has 600 warheads, being the third.

Means of war transport

The U.S. Air Force is the division with the largest number of means of transport in its category, either to move troops, to send resources or as an attack tool. In total, it has 13,043, of which 1,790 are fighter aircraft.

For its part, the PLA Air Force has 1,212 combat aircraft and a total of 3,309 airlift assets.

On the ground level, the U.S. Armed Forces also win, having 391,963 transport vehicles, to the 144,017 available to China. The communist regime has more tanks than its adversary: 6,800 to 4,640.

By sea, the PLA has 754 assets, including 50 destroyers, 47 frigates and 61 submarines. For its part, the PLA has 440 vehicles, with 81 destroyers and 70 submarines. They have no frigates, GFP indicated.