Text from a friend:

[grantcart]

23. Their missile and warhead capabilities have improved but there is zero

evidence that their army would perform at elite levels on a battlefield.


Here is an article from March of this year:

The Myth of China's military might

https://unherd.com/2023/03/the-myth-of-chinas-military-might/

They have some of the same problems Russia has with corruption and nepotism.


Here is another article from the Journal of Foreign Affairs from last year

The Weakness behind China's Strong Facade.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/weakness-behind-china-strong-facade
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The fact is that China's battlefield capabilities are 100% untested and as Putin found out all of those beautiful numbers on papers doesn't translate to actual capability on the battlefield.

China's battlefield capabilities are highly suspect. They have had exactly one conflict in forty years and dramatically under performed in that conflict when they had vastly superior numbers, better equipment and launched a surprise attack. Any military that has not had actual battlefield experience is to a degree suspect but in no way could they be considered the second best army. Even comparing their nuclear capability is somewhat unclear because while they have the third highest number of nuclear weapons all are kept in reserve and not deployed.