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Events • December 8, 2022 

# How Much Does China Really Spend on Defense? 

In recent decades, estimates of Chinese defense spending have varied wildly. Recognizing that market exchange rates cannot provide the best picture of Chinese defense spending on their own, analysts began using a blend of purchasing power parity and market exchange rates to represent Chinese military expenditures. With no agreed‐​on methodology, however, estimates have ranged from roughly $250 billion to near $600 billion. Since the Defense Department has identified China as the “pacing challenge” for the United States, the size and shape of China’s military has significant implications for the U.S. defense budget, U.S.-Chinese relations, and the future of security in Asia. Please join our panel for a wide‐​ranging discussion of how best to represent China’s growing military power.

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

##### Featuring 

![Eric Heginbotham](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2022-11/Eric%20Heginbotham.jpg?itok=ajjC5WSl) 

##### Eric Heginbotham 

Principal research scientist, MIT

![Frederico Bartels](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2022-11/Frederico-Bartels.jpg?itok=TWtW0Gkg) 

##### Frederico Bartels 

Consultant, Pantheon Integrated Solutions

[![Justin Logan cropped portrait new](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-08/Justin-Logan-cropped.jpg?itok=1xXiDWfG)](/people/justin-logan) 

##### [Justin Logan](/people/justin-logan)

Director of Defense and Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute

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