What the Mainland Media Say | Beijing faces dilemma as its share of global arms trade grows
Government is using weapons sales as a tool to realise geopolitical interests but it is also under pressure to regulate the industry
The idea that arms sales can be tools of political influence has long held sway among the communist planners overseeing China's military industrial complex.
That's why China's limited arms exports were not driven in the past by financial gain but by foreign policy and ideological considerations. During the cold war, China sent weapons to political allies such as Vietnam, North Korea and Pakistan to help support their movements.
But all that has changed in recent decades as China has evolved to become a big player in the global arms trade and the money-making opportunities have begun to play a part in the business. China has also made substantial progress in terms of moving up the value chain in arms technology in the last decade, with exports moving beyond small arms and into heavier equipment, such as aircraft and warships.
The government no longer shies away from talking about China's competition in this market. And so it was last week that a record US$23.4 billion in deals at the Zhuhai air show to sell China-made attack helicopters, missiles, drones and air defence gear made headlines in state media. China became the world's fourth-largest arms exporter this year, pushing out France from the spot after the US, Russia and Germany.
China Daily said China-made arms were effective, affordable and popular with developing countries. In a commentary online, People's Daily said inexpensive and high-quality Chinese products had made a great impact on America and Europe's traditional markets, a source of growing concern for the US and to other countries. In its print version, the party flagship newspaper said that as a latecomer to the aviation industry, China needed to press ahead to compete with its peers in the developed West.
Analysts said that after decades of steep increases in military spending and cash injections into domestic contractors, some Chinese-made equipment was already on par with that made in Russia and the West. Chinese companies were known in the past mainly as suppliers of small arms, but that is changing quickly. From drones to frigates to fighter jets, Chinese companies are aggressively promoting overseas sales of hi-tech hardware.