Chinavs Russia
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, Russia (#2) holds a narrow edge over China (#3).
- Russia holds 7.1× as many nuclear warheads.
- China fields 4.1× as many destroyers.
- China has 3× as many aircraft carriers.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyChina leads 3 of 4
- Land forcesChina leads 3 of 5
- Air powerRussia leads 6 of 7
- Naval forcesChina leads 5 of 7
- Nuclear weaponsRussia leads 2 of 2
Leads count raw numbers in each category. Larger is not always stronger: a modern fleet can beat a bigger, older one.
People and money
Who can be put in uniform, and how much is spent keeping them there.
$336B
Military spending
$190B2.04M
Active personnel
1.32M510K
Reserves
2M625K
Paramilitary
250KSpending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (China: 1.7% of GDP; Russia: 7.5% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
5,870
Tanks
5,630152K
Armored vehicles
127K2,940
Self-propelled artillery
3,6031,400
Towed artillery
5,9202,770
Rocket artillery
2,486Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
3,529
Total aircraft
4,2371,443
Fighters
861371
Attack aircraft
6981,007
Helicopters
1,643281
Attack helicopters
5569
Tankers
18287
Transports
458Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
841
Total fleet
7473
Aircraft carriers
14
Helicopter carriers
061
Submarines
6653
Destroyers
1346
Frigates
1250
Corvettes
79Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
620
Warheads
4,40034
Deployed warheads
1,796Compare other countries
Related matchups
- United StatesvsChina
- RussiavsUkraine
- ChinavsIndia
- United StatesvsRussia
- ChinavsTaiwan
- ChinavsJapan
- RussiavsPoland
- RussiavsUnited Kingdom
Profiles: China and Russia. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.