HEAD TO HEAD
China vs France
Verdict
China holds a 78–22 advantage over France on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (83% of the combined total, $336bn) and economic size (GDP) (86% of the combined total, $18.7tn).
Factor by factor
| Factor | China | Share | France | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $336bn | 83%17% | $68.0bn | 25% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $18.7tn | 86%14% | $3.2tn | 20% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 2.0m | 91%9% | 203.0k | 15% |
Nuclear warheads FAS Nuclear Notebook | 600 | 67%33% | 290 | 25% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 402 | 67%33% | 200 | 15% |
Shares are each side's portion of the combined total for that factor. Weights are renormalised across the factors both sides publish — see the methodology. Data read 2026-10-22.
