China vs United States - 2023 Military / Army Comparison - Who Would Win?

How do China and the United States militaries measure up against each other? Don't miss this incredible new video that analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the US and Chinese armies, comparing their Armies, Navies, and Airforce. Which country holds the edge in land, air, and sea war tactics and equipment. Find out right now.

The videos are made by the same team that brings you The Infographics Show.

All videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted.

[josef]

I'd rather get attacked by Godzilla than the US Navy.

[anakamarvelous]

MUCH better military comparison video than the others, a lot more comprehensive. I’d like to see the old ones redone like this.

[pfdoom]

I think it's important to consider the amount of foreign military bases the the US has comparitively: 750+ with 300+ in the South Asia region. China has the second most... 9. One in Africa, 8 on man-made islands in the South China sea.

[jamesmancini]

US ships can resupply missiles at sea with helicopters. Maybe not their full complement, but definitely can fly in a few at a time if they have to stay in the fight longer.

[thenuad]

Nice video!

A few notes about things that weren't covered, but still are very important:

1. Importance of drones. Drones, in general (ranging from sophisticated and expensive ones to basic and cheap FPV drones) have proven extremely capable in the past several years in Azerbaijan vs. Armenia and Russia vs. Ukraine conflicts. On average, drones are cheap to produce, are very capable of destroying targets from tanks and personnel carriers to sophisticated missle defense systems and networks. Most drones are also very hard to detect and shoot down, and even if a system such as Patriot succeeds in this task, it will cost a few million dollars (those missiles aren't cheap!) to shoot down an object costing in the $500 to $160, 000 range. Drones are cheap and can be produced in large quantities, making it easy enough to overwhelm any defensive setup created in the pre-drone era.

2. Combat experience. While this topic is partially covered, it's a very important one. US has decades of active fighting experience, whlie China has almost none.

3. Allies (and nukes). Of course, this video is about comparing USA and China individually. However, a realistic military conflict would have to include allies. NATO on the US's side would provide a significant boost to its capabilities across the board. Plus, it has decades of efficient cooperative experience. China has Russia and, maybe, Iran. While quality of the armies of those countries doesn't carry much potential in being useful, Russia's nuclear arsenal is close to that of the US itself and brings the number of available nukes much closer to quantitative (though not necessary qualitative) parity. That, paired with the creative ways of hiding the few hundred nukes China has in a huge network of underground tunnels and silos (hard to say which ones are real, which ones are fake, etc.), makes it highly unlikely that any side will be able to dictate anything to the other based purely on the availability of nukes. And Iran has a decent quantity of mid-range missiles, plenty of fighter aircraft, and an extensive cheap drone manufacturing capability (they were/are likely shiping thousands of long range drones to Russia in 2022-2023). Logistics becomes more complicated as the territory of potential conflict expands drastically when military allies are considered.
Note: I haven't included a bunch of other countries that would most likely get involved on one side or another, each bringing something of value. They are there, and the info in all of tgem, including their capabilities, is easy enough to dig up online.

[tonysu]

Pretty fair evaluation.
Main difference opinion I have is the importance of mining and de-mining waters.
IMO is not that important for American forces because the US has and is expected to always have such air dominance that surface water amphibious assault and support operations are less important or can be avoided altogether for certain phases of the conflict. Mining operations can then be operated more or less at leisure. Of course specific scenario conditions might override generalities, but the US probably is so good at so many things that the US will always enjoy the luxury of chocie compared to any adversary. Also, despite China's supposed advances in missile technology, it'd still be hard for China to equal or exceed the variety and strength of American conventional weaponry borne of decades fighting terrorists in some of the most difficult terrain in the world like the underground caves and tunnels in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The US hasn't built just "bunker busters" but have had to build "cave busters" that can penetrate deep into mountains.

[XDAG]

Heading to the Air Force reserves next year, this was very informative.

[mandrake]

Doesn't matter who wins we all end up losing. The economic catastrophe during and after would be terrible for the world. At the end of the day we need to figure out a way to calm down and figure this out peacefully.

[cloudwithwind]

As far as I know, modern warfare is not only about military power, but also about industrial and logistical capabilities

[roadblock]

The US proved it can shoot down a satellite with a missile if necessary in 1985 from an F-15

[matthewskudzienski]

I told myself “nobody wants another world war, but in peace of our Nations”

[oliviaralston]

You work for 40yrs to have $1M in your
retirement, meanwhile some people are putting just $10K in a meme coin from just few months ago and now they are

[blakesboxing]

Don't know how you keep pumping out fantastic content but keep it up

[johnparker]

This is really good. Thanks for posting it.

[JF]

Not to mention that U.S. has the largest Air Force in the world, and Our Navy has the second 2nd largest Air Force in the world lol

[anthonylatassa]

Combined firearms experience can’t be emphasized enough. Joint operations and uniformed SOPs with allies makes and breaks efficiency. The new B-21 raider will be a massive advantage to our Airforce and air superiority in a world that is covered in radar and satellite imaging

[delphy]

it's always amusing to me that in every serious comparison of militaries for USA vs anyone, one of the biggest differences is always that the USA is world class in logistics, and basically nobody else is

[megatondiplomat]

It's important to remember that a 1:1 measurement between the Chinese and US armed forces is not the critical calculus. In any US engagements, the US also must retain the ability to simultaneously continue deterring countries like Russia and Iran, among others. So just outdoing the PLA and PLAN is not nearly enough. US Forces must always be much stronger and more numerous to continue fulfilling other commitments.

[nerdwatch]

I’d love to see the US build the first 21st century dedicated Battleship using all the new advanced weapons technology. Being nuclear powered like our carriers for speed. These ships could field advanced Mach cannons that shoot rounds hundreds to thousands of miles away with enough force to punch a hole through an aircraft carrier hull to sink it. laser weapons both offensive/defensive that can aim at aircraft or incoming rockets as well as ships. Then have smaller scale Mach canons that can be used for closer targets like ships that can shoot to sink or just take out of the fight!! Along side maybe using small A.I. drones that can land on an enemy ships hull and detonate sinking that ship

[malav_patel]

Finally ! I was looking for a updated comparison of the US and China