The U.S. and China spent around $899 billion between them in 2018.
President Donald Trump’s administration has overseen the first increase in American military expenditure in almost a decade, as arms spending continues to accelerate around the world.
For America’s military, the 4.6 percent growth on 2017 represents the first increase in spending since 2010. Expenditure totaled $649 billion last year, meaning the U.S. remains by far the largest spender in the world and accounts for nearly as much military investment as the next eight largest spending nations.
China was the second biggest global spender in 2018, its total military invested standing at roughly $250 billion—less than half that of the U.S. Though a huge gulf remains between the two nations, 2018 marked China’s 24th consecutive year of increasing military expenditure. China has been flexing its military muscles in the Pacific by enforcing its contested territorial claims in the South China Sea and maintaining pressure on Taiwan, which Beijing insists will one day become part of a unified Chinese state. This has created tension with the U.S., which has sought to curtail Chinese expansion and maintain the Pacific status quo.
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