The Pentagon has released its annual congressionally mandated report on China's military and security developments.

Beijing’s military – which it has been working to modernise for several decades – has made recent advances, the report said, citing intelligence and open source data. But efforts to improve its armed forces have been hampered by corruption that led to the removal of top leaders, it added. Here are the key takeaways about the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from the report:

  • Navy

China’s navy – the largest in the world – has more than 370 ships and submarines, up from the approximately 340 that the Pentagon said China had in its 2022 report.

  • Nuclear arsenal

China’s stockpile of operational nuclear warheads has also increased from more than 500 last year to more than 600 in 2024, the report said. It will have more than 1,000 by 2030, the Pentagon said, as Beijing pushes “to modernize, diversify, and expand its nuclear forces rapidly”.

  • Air Force

The PLA’s air force is “rapidly approaching technology” up to US standards, the report said. It is “modernising and indigenising” its aircraft, as well as unmanned aerial systems.

  • Missiles

China is also developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles that will “significantly improve” its nuclear-capable missile forces and require increased nuclear warhead production, the report said. The country also “probably completed” the construction of three new silo fields in 2022, which would contain at least 300 new ICBM silos where it has loaded some of the missiles.

  • Overseas footprint

China is looking to expand its overseas infrastructure and logistics to “project and sustain military power at greater distances” beyond its base in Djibouti, the Pentagon said. The PLA has likely considered having military logistics facilities in countries from Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh to Kenya and Nigeria, among others.

  • Pressure on Taiwan

China “amplified” its diplomatic, political and military pressure against Taiwan in 2023, the report said. The country “continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics”, it added.