China’s People’s Liberation Army is rapidly modernizing, surpassing the U.S. military in multiple areas. Explore China’s military strengths and weaknesses.
Amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China, China’s People’s Liberation Army is modernizing at an incredible pace. In what areas do they specifically excel and what skills do they possess? The British magazine The Economist reports on this remarkable progress. As Donald Trump prepares for a second term, he will receive a single, simple message from all 18 of America’s intelligence agencies: Russia may be causing chaos in Europe, but only China can mount a global challenge. In 2023, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the U.S. intelligence agencies, stated that “the Chinese government is accelerating the development of significant capabilities.” The agency further said the “capabilities” are ones the Chinese government “deems necessary for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to deal with a large-scale, sustained conflict with the United States.” The current People’s Liberation Army is still not strong enough to go to war with the United States. China has officially stated that it aims to “modernize” its military by 2035 and to have the world’s most advanced military by 2049. But the People’s Liberation Army has already undergone a remarkable transformation, from a shoddy military two decades ago to what is now Asia’s leading military power. The old image of the Chinese military as prioritizing quantity over quality is now outdated. In recent years, China has significantly improved the effectiveness of its military power, and in some areas it has already reached a level equal to or even surpassing that of the United States. When analyzing China’s military superiority, the first place to look is the navy, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Plan is the world’s largest navy and has the most advanced ships. According to the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), about 70% of China’s warships are modern warships built after 2010, compared with just 25% of the US Navy’s. According to the Office of Naval Intelligence, many of China’s ships are already on par with their American counterparts in terms of design and materials. Although American warships are generally larger and more capable, China is rapidly catching up. One of the key measures of naval power is the number of Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells, or advanced missile launchers. According to CSIS estimates, in 2004, the U.S. had about 222 times as many VLS cells per ship as China, but this ratio is expected to soon shift in favor of the PLAN. China also stands out in terms of technological innovation. Tom Shugart, a former U.S. Navy officer, said the U.S. has no equivalent to the hybrid propulsion system used by China’s Zhou-class submarines. He also mentioned the Type 076 amphibious assault ship currently under construction, noting that it will be one of the world’s largest and the only one equipped with catapults for launching drones. Available from 10:00 on Saturday, November 30th.
>>1 It’s not a nuclear strategic deterrent, it’s not just a conventional weapon war, it’s a political war, and the West is concerned that the US will weaken its sense of righteousness.
I think many Chinese people think that if they occupy Taiwan they will be able to do as they like, but if they realize that their hopes are not fulfilled, I think they will rage within China.
There is no comparable hybrid propulsion system in the United States. That’s pretty arbitrary. Well, they only use nuclear submarines, so they don’t have hybrid propulsion systems with conventional power lol. Japan does have them, but Drone catapults on amphibious assault ships depend on the drones they’re using in the first place lol.
Honestly, we can’t compete with China in terms of quantity either. America can’t win unless it gives more immigrants green cards and lets them join the military.
It’s just a guess, but I think China would have started a war by now if they were confident they could beat the US. They’ve made terrible things like the Zumwalt class, and they have quite a bit of outdated equipment. It’s true that the China threat theory can’t be denied, but it’s not like the US is losing in all areas. Also, I don’t think it’s strange that the US military is talking about the China threat theory to get budgets.
The Chinese are stupid after all lol. No matter how good the weapons are, it’s the quality of the people who use them that matters. The Chinese maintenance skills are only slightly better than those of Koreans. Even if they have a lot of weapons, I’d say less than 50% of them are actually usable.
It is also necessary for countries around China to increase their military power, and for that reason, it seems necessary to lift the ban on arms exports.
The Ukraine incident revealed that America’s military power is nothing more than a sham, and if it’s like this against just Russia, there’s no way it can win against China.
Containing China with the Acheson Line will become increasingly important in closing the gap in military power. China will then move to launch a surprise attack on Russia with nuclear submarines in the Pacific. Japan should hurry to strengthen cooperation with the Aukus and build nuclear submarines. Japan should build its own nuclear submarines so that it can flexibly respond to Chinese construction of nuclear submarines.
If it’s not a shoddy weapon, like a crashing fighter plane, a floating nuclear submarine, or an exploding gun barrel, then I think that weapons on a desk, not just for display, are amazing. It’s just on paper.
The scary thing about China is how many of its people have such thick skin. If 100,000 people surrendered every day at the start of the war, within a month there would be 3 million prisoners. They start making a fuss about being given food and about the rights of prisoners of war.
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