Infrequent Nights

I was talking politics with an American friend the other day. We got onto the topic of a potential invasion by Mainland China, and began trading scenarios. He was of the firm belief that America would step up to the plate to defend Taiwan, and that once America’s mighty army becomes involved in a conflict the outcome is determined. His argument was that American military spending eclipses China’s (their closest rival) by a factor of over 5. This chart may help you visualize the differences. While this is true, at least approximately enough as PLA expenditures and profits (they have numerous business interests) are hazy at best, I exhorted him to recall that a billion dollars goes much further in China than it does in the U.S.A. This is often forgotten by individuals throwing around military expenditure figures. I’ve no idea what an average American soldier’s salary is, but if we attribute it a value of the U.S. GDP/Capita ($44 000) and multiply this by the number of active troops (1 427 000) we get the princely sum of around $63 billion. In China’s case the GDP/Capita is about $5600 (I doubt soldiers make anything close to this amount) and the number of active troops is 2 250 000, which puts their sloppily estimated payroll at about $12.6 billion.

These very rough numbers, meant only to give one an idea of the discrepancy between the two country’s military payrolls, do not include administrative personnel. While this difference is in and of itself huge, there exists a large acquisition cost differential for each country. America’s military procurement policy encourages huge R&D grants to private companies. For instance those provided to Beoing corporation which the Europeans always bring to light when attempting to justify their own loan guarantees to Airbus. China’s military does much of their procurement in-house or by buying ready made goods from Overseas suppliers. Furthermore the Chinese focus more of their procurement dollars on practical items such as new nuclear submarines. The United States on the other hand, in order to maintain their relative military might, spend a lot of money on speculative technological development, for items which may or may not ever see practical usage. The end result is a military dollar that goes much further in China than it does in the United States.

I’m not suggesting parity between the two militaries or even an approximation thereof. I’m simply pointing out that one cannot judge by the numbers alone, and that America’s huge military expenditure does not automatically grant it a preponderant status.