China is fast becoming a military superpower. The West, as well as countries in Asia, are increasingly seeing China’s rise as a potential threat. With a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan, fighting between India and China in the Himalayas and disputes in the South China Sea, it can seem like a war with China is coming. But, with China’s immense military strength, is there even a country that could defeat it?
It is possible the United States could defeat China in a war. There is probably no other country that could defeat China alone. However, a coalition of several countries, including Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia, could probably win a war against China.
With that said, let’s dive into the data and see which countries could actually take on China in war, and win…
Is There A Country In The World That Can Defeat China?
When assessing if there is a country that could defeat China in a war, the first step is to look at the countries in the world with the most powerful armed forces. Is there a country with military powerful enough to win a war against China?
America is probably the only country that could defeat China in war. Although China has a larger military than the US, the superior technology available to the American army would likely be a defining factor. However, the US could not easily defeat China and victory would be far from certain.
Now we’re had an overview, let’s look at the most powerful armies in the world and see why most would fail to defeat China in a major conflict…
| Country | Number of Active-Duty Soldiers | Number of Reservists | Number of Main Battle Tanks | Number of Combat Aircraft | Number of Warships |
| China | 2,185,000 | 1,170,000 | 5,650 | 1,747+ | 355 |
| United States | 1,388,100 | 844,050 | 6,209 | 2,628 | 490 |
| Russia | 1,015.000 | 2,000,000 | 1,200 | 950 | 352 |
| India | 1,455,550 | 1,155,000 | 4,732 | 687 | 150 |
| Pakistan | 654,000 | 550,000 | 2,468 | 422 | 17 |
| France | 203,250 | 41,050 | 222 | 333 | 39 |
| UK | 148,500 | 78,600 | 227 | 225 | 37 |
| Brazil | 366,500 | 1,340,000 | 296 | 214 | 18 |
All data from Wikipedia
As we’ve said, the United States is probably the only country that could single-handedly defeat China in a war. However, there is no guarantee of American victory. America has more nuclear weapons than China, which could be a key factor in defeating it, but, any war between the two would likely be fought with conventional weapons to avoid the devastation of all-out nuclear war.
Russia’s army is half the size of China’s. There is almost no way Russia could win a full-scale war against China. Russia does have significantly more nuclear weapons than China – the use of these is probably the only path to a Russian victory.
China would likely win a war against India. The Chinese army is larger and more modern than India’s. Neither country has a nuclear arsenal large enough to define a conflict between them.
There is almost no way Pakistan could defeat China in a war. China’s army is four times larger with over a thousand more combat aircraft. The Chinese Navy would also dominate Pakistan’s small fleet.
Both the UK and France would lose a war against China if they fought alone. Each has only around 10% of the troops China has and a comparative lack of armour and combat aircraft would make it impossible for either of them defeat China.
Brazil also could not defeat China in war. Its army is significantly smaller by comparison. It’s lack of navy would also make projecting its military power abroad difficult.
Is There a Country In Asia That Could Win A War Against China?
So, we’ve looked at the world’s major military powers and assessed if any of these could win a war against China. However, in many ways this is unrealistic. Most of these countries are located thousands of miles away from China and it’s almost impossible to see how they would go to war against it. But what about Asia? Are there countries in China’s region that could defeat it if a war broke out?
China is the most powerful military power in Asia and it is unlikely any single country in the region could defeat it. However, an alliance of many Asian countries could have the combined military strength to win a war against China.
Let’s take a look at a comparison of the military strengths of prominent Asian countries against China’s.
| Country | Number of Active-Duty Soldiers | Number of Reservists | Number of Main Battle Tanks | Number of Combat Aircraft | Number of Warships |
| China | 2,185,000 | 1,170,000 | 5,650 | 1,747+ | 355 |
| North Korea | 1,280,000 | 600,000 | 3,500 | 537 | 630 |
| South Korea | 599,000 | 3100,000 | 2,321 | 62 | 595 |
| Japan | 247,150 | 56,000 | 580 | 606 | 76 |
| Vietnam | 482,000 | 5,000,000 | 1,379 | 80 | 65 |
| Thailand | 360,850 | 200,000 | 420 | 160 | 18 |
| Myanmar | 406,000 | 0 | 186 | 165 | 10 |
| Philippines | 143,100 | 131,000 | 0 | 39 | 8 |
| Indonesia | 395,500 | 400,000 | 103 | 108 | 59 |
| Australia | 58,600 | 30,100 | 59 | 145 | 20 |
All data from Wikipedia
As we can see, there is no country in Asia that comes close to China’s military strength.
The second most powerful army in Asia – at least in-terms of troop numbers is North Korea. However, North Korea is long-standing Chinese ally. It’s very unlikely they would fight a war again each other.
To China’s north, neither Japan nor South Korea have the strength to win a war against China. Even combined they lack the military power needed to be sure of victory.
To China’s south – Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar all also do not have armies large enough to win a war against China.
In the Pacific region, it is clear that the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia could not defeat China in a war if they fought alone.
It’s definitely possible that an alliance of Asian nations, especially if the US also joined, could defeat China, but it’s clear no single country in Asia has an army large enough to win a war against China alone.
Is There A Group Of Countries That Would Win A War Against China?
As we’ve seen, there are few, if any, single countries that could defeat China in a war. The United States is probably the only serious military threat to China. However, in a major conflict, it is unlikely countries would not band together. So, is there a group of countries that have the combined military strength to take on China and win?
NATO has the military strength to potentially defeat China in a war. With almost a million more soldiers, three times the tanks and over twice the number of combat aircraft, a combined NATO force is significantly stronger than the Chinese military.
…with that said, let’s look at other groups of countries and international alliances and see if any others have the strength to win a war against China…
| Country | Number of Active-Duty Soldiers | Number of Reservists | Number of Main Battle Tanks | Number of Combat Aircraft | Number of Warships |
| China | 2,185,000 | 1,170,000 | 5,650 | 1,747+ | 355 |
| NATO | 3,261,760 | 2,106,850 | 14,971 | 6,071 | 503 |
| CSTO | 1,162,850 | 2,499,500 | 14,657 | 1,583 | 140 |
| Europe | 1,855,810 | 2,687,530 | 7,711 | 2,554 | 244 |
| Latin America | 1,414,540 | 2,110,070 | 1,108 | 676 | 71 |
| Asia | 8,973,380 | 14,568,700 | 34,488 | 8,471 | 914 |
| Africa | 2,395,610 | 1,007,050 | 9,171 | 1,337 | 67 |
All data from Wikipedia
As we’ve said, NATO is probably one of the only groups of countries that could defeat China. With over a million more troops and three times the combat aircraft, a combined NATO force would likely win a war against China. However, a war between China and all of NATO is extremely unlikely. Nuclear weapons may also alter the outcome of any war between them.
The CSTO – Collective Security Treaty Organization, is essentially the Russian NATO. It’s made-up Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Combined, the countries in the CSTO are significantly weaker than China and would likely lose a war against it.
An army made up of every country in Europe would be relatively evenly matched in an all-out war with China. However, an all-European alliance is almost impossible to imagine as many countries simply wouldn’t join a major war against China.
If every country in Asia joined together and fought a war against China they would likely win. With five times the number of troops, four times more aircraft and three times the naval power, it is difficult to see how China could win in a war against every other country in Asia.
There is no way China would lose a war against a combined African army. Although an African army made up of every county on the continent looks evenly matched against China’s, the lack of advanced technology it would have would make it easy for China to defeat.
Why Would China Be Hard To Defeat In A War?
China hasn’t engaged in a large-scale war since the Korean War (1950-53). Since then, it has become a significant global power with influence across Asia and the wider world. In recent decades China has also become a major military power. As we can see, there a few countries that have the military strength to defeat China. But military might is not the only reason China would be hard to win a war against. These are the key factors why China would be hard to defeat:
- Military strength
- Huge population
- Large economy
- Difficult geography
- Role in global trade
Let’s go over each of these…
Military Strength
As we’ve discussed, China has one of the largest militaries in the world. China is also rapidly modernizing its military and introducing advanced technologies. The size of its armed forces, combined with its military innovations, makes China a difficult county to defeat in a war.
Huge Population
China is the most populous country in the world, with 1.4 billion people. The country’s enormous population means it has large reserves of people to call upon in times of war. Simply put, defeating a country with a population as huge as China’s would be extremely difficult.
Large Economy
With the second largest economy in the world, China is a major world power. The size of China’s economy means it has the wealth to invest in military technology and expanding its armed forces. China can afford to have a large standing army and also has the financial power to sustain a major conflict if its need to. This makes the country hard to defeat in war.
Difficult Geography
Any war against China that involved an invasion of the mainland would be hard to win. China’s population centers are in the east of the country. To attack these, any invading army would either need to land by sea or conquer China’s interior. To the west China is mountainous and has inhospitable terrain. China’s geography is a key reason why it would be hard to win a war against.
Role in Global Trade
China is a major power in global trade. It imports enormous amounts of raw materials and exports a huge array of consumer goods. China also dominates the supply chains in many key industries. The control China has over global trade makes fighting a war against it difficult as it can disrupt enormous amount of the world economy if it chose to.