China holds a 86–14 advantage over Italy on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (87% of the combined total, $336bn) and economic size (GDP) (89% of the combined total, $18.7tn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side. Those factors are excluded and the remaining weights renormalised, never substituted.
| Factor | China | Share | Italy | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $336bn | 87%13% | $48.1bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $18.7tn | 89%11% | $2.4tn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 2.0m | 93%7% | 161.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 402 | 73%27% | 152 | 20% |
Shares are each side's portion of the combined total for that factor. Weights are renormalised across the factors both sides publish — see the methodology. Data read 2026-08-04.
Every combination inside the top 30 of the Composite Power Index.
Bordering states — the comparisons people actually search for.