Hi everyone, this is Klaus.
People like to compare China with the United States.
Tension between the two countries has increased recently.
So today let's compare China and the US in terms of military power,
and talk about what could trigger a Sino-US war and what might happen once the war starts.
I hope you enjoy this video.
Let’s take a look at the two countries' military strengths.
China has 2 million active military personnel and the US has 1.4 million.
China has 500,000 in the military reserve and the US has 850,000.
China’s annual military budget is about 200 billion US dollars,
and that of the US is 750 billion US dollars.
Chinese Army VS American Army
China has 7,000 tanks and the US has 8,000.
China has 3,500 infantry fighting vehicles,
and the US has 6,700 infantry fighting vehicles.
China has 4,000 armored personnel carriers,
and the US has 13,000 armored personnel carriers.
Chinese VS American Air force
China has 4,000 to 4,500 military aircraft and 500 available airports,
1,600 fighter jets, 1,000 helicopters, and 200 transport aircraft.
The US has 14,000 military aircraft and 14,000 available airports,
2,800 fighter jets, 5,700 helicopters, and 1,200 transport aircraft.
China's fighter jets are mainly stealth J-20 and Su-30, etc.
American fighter jets are mainly stealth F22 and F35 etc.
Chinese VS American Navy
China has two aircraft carriers.
The US has 11 aircraft carriers, and 9 helicopter carriers.
There are no cruisers in China, but the US has 22 cruisers.
China has 36 destroyers and the US has 69 destroyers.
In addition, the US has more undisclosed reserves military forces,
and a super combat mobilization system.
During World War II, the US built 147 aircraft carriers within four years.
Now, it is already obvious which country is stronger.
In terms of quantity alone, China is no match for the US at all.
And yet Chinese experts say China could wipe out the US military in a few hours.
In fact, a China VS US military strengths comparison is not a simple matter of quantity,
because the two nations' military strengths are not equal in quality.
US military personnel are highly qualified and experienced in combat.
After World War II, the US participated in a dozen large-scale wars
and in peacekeeping operations all over the world every year.
The US Army values field training.
By contrast, the Chinese military is only pretty good at oppressing the people. It has only been in one large-scale war, the Korean War in 1951.
At the moment, not one Chinese soldier has actual combat experience.
In addition, China's military equipment
including aircraft carriers, fighter jets, tanks, submarines, etc.,
is no match for that of the US in terms of military technology.
China’s new military equipment is still in the minority,
China mainly uses old-style Soviet equipment.
Besides, the Chinese army is well known for its corruption.
News about the recent Sino-Indian conflict at the borders shows that
a Chinese off-road vehicle was stoned through by Indian soldiers,
revealing a big case of corruption in the Chinese army.
So, how big is the gap between China and the US in terms of military power?
It's immeasurable.
Of course, some people will say that China also has nuclear weapons.
Yes, nuclear weapons are very important. Let's take a look.
Let’s look at the US first.
The US has over 6,000 nuclear warheads,
and four strategic capabilities of nuclear strikes and counterattacks
as the most powerful country in the world.
The four nuclear strategic capabilities are:
sea-based nuclear power, space-based nuclear power,
land-based nuclear power and outer space nuclear power.
The US is also the only country in the world that has nuclear power in outer space.
The US also has a three-in-one anti-missile system.
The US offensive and defensive integrated strategic system is like Star Wars.
America is the only country with integrated offensive and defensive strategic deterrence in the world.
What about China’s nuclear strategic capabilities?
China has between 200 and 300 nuclear warheads.
China currently is not capable of a 3-in-1 nuclear strike at all.
Let’s talk about space-based nuclear power first.
Space-based nuclear strikes require strategic bombers.
In modern warfare, strategic bombers
must have penetration ability and stealth ability.
China’s best bomber is Bombing 6K,
an old Soviet Tu-16 aircraft,
born in the Soviet Union in the 1950s.
No matter how it is improved, the fuselage is still quite limited.
It has neither supersonic penetration capability nor stealth capability.
Such an aircraft can be detected and locked by enemy radar and shot down as soon as it takes off.
Sea-based nuclear strike capabilities require strategic nuclear submarines to launch ballistic missiles.
At present, China has two types of strategic nuclear submarines, Type 092 and Type 094.
These two types of nuclear submarines are too noisy,
and therefore nicknamed "submarine tractors that can be heard even in Hawaii" by the Americans.
A nuclear submarine without noise reduction technology is basically useless.
It wouldn't dare go out of the first island chain to enter the Pacific Ocean for combat and duty,
because the first island chain and the entire Pacific Ocean are covered by America and Japan’s undersea sonar
so China's nuclear submarines have nowhere to hide.
Now let’s talk about land-based nuclear strike capabilities.
Land-based nuclear strikes require fixed silos and mobile ballistic missile launchers.
At present, China is a country with land-based nuclear strike capabilities.
China has Dongfeng 41 intercontinental ballistic missiles, whose range is up to 14,000 kilometers.
But land-based nuclear strike capability is the weakest of the three nuclear deterrence capabilities.
Land-based launches cannot be hidden at all, for the US has a ballistic missile early warning system.
A ballistic missile launch takes time.
The current three major interception systems in the US could easily handle land-based nuclear strikes,
quickly shooting down any land-based ballistic missile launched to the US.
So, in general, China has no nuclear strike and defense capabilities at all, only nuclear deterrence.
Simply put, "deterrence" is the ability to scare people,
in the way a person with a gun can be scary,
regardless of whether there are bullets in the gun
or whether the person knows how to use the gun.
There is a deterrent effect, which can only scare others away.
But once a war breaks out, deterrence will become meaningless.
At this point, some people might still have doubts.
China still has one of the biggest advantages: the largest population in the world.
Like this expert said, "Even if one billion Chinese people were to die, China’s population would be one of the largest in the world,
but if 300 million Americans were dead, there wouldn't be many of them left."
This kind of person obviously doesn't count himself and his family as among the one billion dead.
This is not the age of cold weapons anymore. It’s meaningless to talk about population.
Even in the late Qing Dynasty, 500,000 soldiers armed with guns were no match for the Eight-Nation Alliance's less than 20,000 troops,
let alone today's high-tech and nuclear weapons.
Besides, although China has 1.4 billion people,
how many of them are combat ready? Millions at best.
Days of peasant uprisings with kitchen knives are long gone.
The US has not only the federal army, but also local militias.
The US has a comprehensive military service system with over 18 million veterans.
The American common people also have guns.
If mobilized, the number of combat ready people in the US is not necessarily less than that of China.
Those Chinese experts worshipped by the Little Pinks said, "China is prepared to sacrifice eastern China.
We can withstand the US military destroying coastal cities."
These experts don't regard the people east of Xi'an as humans at all.
How many people would die if coastal cities were destroyed?
Someone was even clamoring for a nuclear war with the US.
The US is over 10,000 kilometers away from China.
Given the perfect anti-missile system of the US,
China would have a hard time launching nuclear bombs into the US.
Even if China managed to get a lucky hit and the US were to retaliate,
China would have no anti-missile capability at all.
China would be powerless against America's 3-in-1 nuclear strike system and 6000 nuclear warheads.
Just because both China and the US have nuclear weapons doesn't mean the playing field is even.
Those warmongers will be the first to run if there is a war.
Having said so much about China and America's military powers, now let’s take a look at the possibility of a Sino-US war.
The outbreak of a war would require many conditions.
The most important trigger is psychological.
When there are ideological and psychological enemies, a war may break out at any time.
For example, if we were good friends, and I accidentally stepped on your toes,
I would apologize. There wouldn't be a fight.
But if we were archenemies,
then a fight could start just by a fierce glare.
Think of the US-China plane collision incident in the South China Sea in 2001.
Back then, both China and the US focused on economic development.
In the same year, China joined the World Trade Organization with the help of the US.
The two sides were not psychologically ready for a war.
Therefore, such a small conflict did not affect overall Sino-US relations.
De-globalization is now emerging in the world economy.
Sino-US relations are also going south.
Today, the percentage of Americans viewing China negatively has exceeded
that of Americans with hostile attitudes towards Japan before World War II.
In addition, both countries are facing economic difficulties and increasing unemployment.
The leaders of the two countries are also facing tremendous political pressure.
A war would be an effective distraction,
uniting domestic forces against a common foreign enemy,
allowing the rulers to strengthen their authority in the army and eliminate their political enemies.
In addition, mobilization in times of war could develop the military industry,
which is the fastest and most effective solution to economic decline and unemployment.
So, a war between China and the United States is possible.
Recently, US military aircraft have frequently approached China.
Most recently, there were only 96 kilometers away from mainland China,
much closer to China than the collision site in the South China Sea in 2001.
In other words, the US does not care about a small conflict anymore.
If China doesn't hold back and starts another collision in the South China Sea,
this time things won't be as easy as in 2001.
In addition, a conflict is most likely to occur in the South China Sea.
In July, the US declared that China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea was completely illegal.
America's ally, Australia, also submitted a statement to the UN in support of the US.
Americans are not a bunch of talkers like the Chinese Ministers of Foreign Affairs are.
The latest US statement will definitely serve America's next step.
Now that the US has declared China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea illegal,
the US military is likely to demolish China’s military facilities in the South China Sea, or directly bomb them.
China is most likely to lodge a serious protest.
Of course, military counterattacks can't be ruled out.
As soon as China strikes back, the US can block the Strait of Malacca, which is China’s lifeline,
through which 90% of China's trade and energy transportation goes through.
In case of a war, the Chinese army would consume 10 million barrels of oil per day.
China cannot win a blitzkrieg or a protracted war.
I hope the Chinese people will not be fooled by those warmongers who see other people as mere cannon fodders.
I also hope that China's leaders won't be fooled by their irresponsible war mongering lapdogs.
They ought to recognize the situation as early as possible, put the people's interests first, and tread carefully regarding international relations.
Alright, time to hear your comments.
In our last video, we summarized the four ways jingoists think.
Regarding their tendency to gaslight people by equating individual phenomena with common phenomena,
Netizen Jiang said that he had experienced it in his city.
Netizen Lucky Mark has personally experienced jingoists who like to set the cart before the horse,
"In Nigeria, other countries have evacuated their citizens.
But China hasn't."
Netizen Aquarius said, "Wumao always say, 'US imperialists always try to destroy us Communist China.'
They don't see that Communist China has nothing to do with the common people."
What the "US imperialists" want to destroy is the communist regime, not the Chinese people.
Netizen ZHENGBO DONG said, "In China, people enjoy freedom before their speech, not after."
Netizen Ye added, "People don’t have freedom before speech either. Too many sensitive words are censored."
Finally, a big THANK YOU to netizen Guo Jin, lawyer constitutional volunteer, for predicting the content of this episode.
Alright, that's it for this video.
Thank you so much for your comments.
This is Klaus. See you next time.