Opinion | Arms exports not a 'bad thing but important' for China diplomacy, says defence contractor

China's defence exports are an important part of the nation's foreign policy, the man at the helm of one of China's biggest defence contractors said in a rare statement about the company's secretive trade.

The former soldier oversees a sprawling conglomerate that not only deals in armaments, but also invests in real estate, finance and event management and has its own auction house.

"Some people think that exporting weapons and armaments is a bad thing, like being a [rogue] arms dealer, but this is a misunderstanding," said Chen. "China's exports of weapons and equipment are an important part of the country's external affairs and diplomatic work."

"Co-operation in the field of military armaments and technology can promote the development of political, diplomatic and economic relations between countries," he said, according to the magazine.

Chen is a veteran of China's armaments industry. Involved in the People's Liberation Army's first entrepreneurial attempts with Poly's predecessor, Poly Technology, in the early 1980s, he has been credited for reforming the group into the diversified conglomerate it is today.

The state-owned company reported a profit of 18.8 billion yuan (HK$23.8 billion) last year, an average annual increase of 38.9 per cent over the last five years. It has paid some 48.6 billion yuan in taxes over the same period.