I always think that's a weird comparison when it's made; the U.S. has a long history of hiding 'true-black' project budgets in non-military (usually scientific) ledgers.
Interesting. I wonder if China has the same amount of waste and overspending in their military industrial complex.
That's highly relevant! China may spend 1/3, but they are more efficient. We probably waste 1/2 or more of our spending. So it's possible we are closer to parity than it would appear if solely comparing budget.
> they are more efficient.
Citation needed.
Your F35 price is set by the market. Their FC-31 price is set by the CCP.
They aren't more efficient. However, their costs (especially for labor) are much lower than in the USA except for stuff they can't source from government owned sources.