How strong is China’s navy?

China’s rapid naval buildup has allowed it to pull ahead of the U.S. Navy by the straightforward metric of number of battle force ships, and it continues to build at a rapid rate. The United States retains a large lead over the People’s Liberation Army navy by tonnage and a qualitative edge in several types of platforms – though the difference in quality is shrinking. The United States also works closely with other regional navies, though whether that will matter in crisis is open to debate.