Country profile · East Asia
China
China is the world's second-largest economy and has the second-largest population. It has the most active troops of any country and the second-largest military budget. Its goods surplus was a record $1.19 trillion in 2025. China claims Taiwan as its territory. Its last war was with Vietnam in 1979.
Where China ranks
All rankings →Who runs China?
Xi Jinping has been General Secretary of the Communist Party since November 2012 and President since March 2013. The National People's Congress removed the presidential two-term limit in 2018. He is in his third term. Premier Li Qiang runs the government. At 15, Xi was sent to Liangjiahe, a village in Shaanxi, where he lived in a cave house for about seven years. He wrote 10 applications to join the Party before it accepted him in 1974. His wife, Peng Liyuan, became famous as a folk singer. Xi has named no successor. The next Party Congress is expected in 2027.
Portrait (2024): Adam Schultz, The White House, public domain
Who are China's allies and rivals?
North Korea is China's only treaty ally. The 1961 Treaty of Friendship requires each side to defend the other if attacked. Russia and China declared a partnership with "no limits" in February 2022, but they have no defense treaty. China supplied 80% of Pakistan's major arms imports in 2021-25. President Xi visited Washington on September 23-25, 2026, and the two sides extended a tariff truce to January 10, 2027. China cut flights and banned Japanese seafood after Prime Minister Takaichi said in November 2025 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could lead Japan to use force. Chinese coast guard ships blocked a Philippine resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal on September 24, 2026.
Allies and partners
- Aksai Chin Held by China, claimed by India
- Arunachal Pradesh Governed by India, claimed by China as South Tibet
- Senkaku Islands Held by Japan, claimed by China and Taiwan
- Second Thomas Shoal Held by the Philippines, claimed by China. Resupply blocked September 24, 2026.
- China
- Partner
- Rival
Who does China trade with?
China exported $3.77 trillion in goods in 2025 and imported $2.58 trillion. The surplus was a record $1.19 trillion, the first above $1 trillion for any country. Exports to the United States fell 20%, to 11.1% of the total. Top exports were phones, integrated circuits, computers and cars. New-energy vehicle exports rose 50%. The largest import was integrated circuits at $424 billion, followed by crude oil at about $296 billion. China imported a record 11.55 million barrels a day of crude in 2025. Close to half passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Second-quarter 2026 crude imports were 32% below the first quarter after the strait closed.
Vietnam
South Korea
AustraliaHow strong is China's military?
SIPRI estimates China spent $335.5 billion on its military in 2025, second only to the United States. Its 2,035,000 active troops are the most of any country. The official 2026 central defense budget is 1.91 trillion yuan, about $277 billion, up 7.0%. Its third aircraft carrier, Fujian, was commissioned on November 5, 2025, the first with electromagnetic catapults. A September 3, 2025 parade displayed China's land, sea and air nuclear missiles for the first time. Purges since 2023 have removed five of the six other officers named to the Central Military Commission in 2022 and 2023. The Communist Party expelled the most senior, General Zhang Youxia, on September 21, 2026.
Military spending, 2025
Full ranking →SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, 2026 edition
How many nuclear weapons does China have?
The Federation of American Scientists estimates China has about 620 warheads in 2026, the third-largest stockpile after Russia and the United States. The count was about 600 in 2025. SIPRI says China's arsenal is growing faster than any other country's. The Pentagon projects over 1,000 by 2030. About 320 new missile silos have been built in three fields at Yumen, Hami and Yulin. China's first nuclear test was on October 16, 1964 at Lop Nur, making it the fifth nuclear power. It declared a no-first-use policy that day and restated it in a November 2025 white paper.
Nuclear warheads, 2026
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France
United KingdomFederation of American Scientists, Status of World Nuclear Forces, 2026