Comparing it to Germany is dumb. Germany during World War 2 had a conscripted army of up to 18 million men, while China is a volunteer army of up to 2 million (3 million if you include reservists).
A much more apt comparison is the Indian Army, the largest all-volunteer force in history which had 2.5 million members and was just one component of the overall British Empire's military.
In terms of military members per capita modern China is in fact below the global average. Yes their expenditures are rising, they're building out their blue water navy and stocking up on high tech kit, but China's primary deterrence is the potential size their military could be, not its present size.
Comparing it to Germany is dumb. Germany during World War 2 had a conscripted army of up to 18 million men, while China is a volunteer army of up to 2 million (3 million if you include reservists).
A much more apt comparison is the Indian Army, the largest all-volunteer force in history which had 2.5 million members and was just one component of the overall British Empire's military.
In terms of military members per capita modern China is in fact below the global average. Yes their expenditures are rising, they're building out their blue water navy and stocking up on high tech kit, but China's primary deterrence is the potential size their military could be, not its present size.