Unhealthy trend: a new Cold War with China May 20, 2021
Like the United States, China is highly militarized, maintains a nuclear arsenal and is overspending on its military. In fact, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China’s military spending has risen for 26 consecutive years. China has more uniformed personnel in its armed forces than any other nation. But none of this warrants additional U.S. military spending. For perspective, here are some comparisons:
China | United States | |
2020 military spending | $252 billion | $740.5 billion |
2020 military spending as % of Gross Domestic Product | 1.7% | 3.7% |
Military spending change 2019 to 2020 | Up 1.9% | Up 4.4% |
Nuclear weapons in military stockpile | 350 | 3800 |
Spending source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Nuclear weapons source: Federation of American Scientists
As of May 20, the full Senate was hard at work combining the Menendez bill with several other bills including one from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) into a new bill called “U.S. Innovation and Competition Act.”
Here is a final excerpt from the joint statement from 66 organizations. “While the administration and many in Congress acknowledge the need for cooperation on issues of global concern such as climate change, presenting the U.S.-China relationship as a zero-sum economic and military struggle between democracy and authoritarianism, as the Strategic Competition Act does, creates a political environment that leaves little room for such cooperation. Instead, the level of demonization and outdated Cold War thinking driving such efforts threatens to fuel destabilizing arms-racing and risks escalation towards a predictably devastating conflict.”