CHINA: ON TRACK AS MAJOR GLOBAL WEAPONS EXPORTER

Written by Michael Thervil

China's Missile Batteries From HQ-9B System | Photographer unknown

[China major global weapons exporter] There's a new player in the international arms market that is set to dominate in the next 5 to 10 years and that player is China. While America is currently the number seller of arms in the world, China is looking for ways to change that. Chinese made weapons are being seen in all major conflicts around the world as well as in the stockpiles in a growing list of countries around the world. From Pakistan to Burkina Faso, to Russia, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Burma, and Lybia there seems to be no stopping China's growing influence on the international arms market.

In the past, like most Chinese made products, China was seen as a knock-off supplier – also like an “Acme” of  cheap bootleg products that always seemed to be subpar. However, in the last two decades all of that has changed. So, what is the driving force that makes Chinese weapons so popular? There are several reasons which range from affordability to the ability for China to deliver with no questions asked and no lectures given. With China being able to furnish governments with everything from the newest AK-47 variant to surface-to-air-missiles (SAM), to combat drones, to the most cutting edge fighter planes any country could ask for; China is doing what it does best and that’s no interfering in the business of other nations and staying in the business of business.

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With China being the 4^th largest arm dealer in the world after America, Russia, and France; and with smaller and developing countries being the gold mines that they are when it comes to weapons sells due to the fact that tend not to have the fiscal ability to afford high technological weapons; China is now the go to for their defense needs. The reason smaller and developing countries can afford Chinese made weapons is because China will accommodate the budget of these countries by scaling down the capabilities of its products. So, the idea of a zero-sum game is non-existent when it comes to Chinese weapons sales.

While it's true that some issues have been reported with Chinese manufactured weapons, that’s to be expected as an up-and-coming major player in any industry. It should be noted that the small issues that arise from the use of Chinese weapons do nothing but strengthen the resolve of Chinese research and development and thus make their weapons significantly better over time. One of the best examples of this is the use of thousands  of Chinese- made drones used by Russia against Ukraine by a Chinese company called Autel Robotics.

While it takes countries like America some time to deliver weapons to client countries; it only takes China days. In short, what we are saying here is that China is quickly becoming the Amazon of international weapon sales. China has been able to attribute its increase in international weapon sales using third party and shell companies that deliver weapons to client countries secretly and quickly. We predict that this game plan used by China will only lead to continued future success and will put them in the position to place themselves in the top three weapon exporters in the world by taking the place of France.