China boosts arms exports by 74pc, while cutting reliance on outside providers, report finds

China has become less dependent on arms import over the past five years due to increased military capabilities at home, while boosting its own exports by 74 per cent, according to a report released on Monday.

The study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute also showed a continuing arms race in Asia Pacific amid the escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, with Beijing’s Asian neighbours drastically increasing their arms purchases since 2012.

Comparing two five-year periods between 2007-11 and 2012-16, the volume of Chinese exports of major arms increased by 74 per cent. Its share of the global total of exports rose from 3.8 to 6.2 per cent, making it the third-largest supplier in the world, following the United States and Russia.

Unlike the US, which accounts for one-third of exports and supplies at least 100 countries, China delivered major arms to 44 countries, mostly in Asia and Africa. More than 60 per cent of China’s exports went to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar and another 22 per cent went to Africa.

China has also been expanding its market. In 2015, it exported type 90 multi-barrel rocket launchers to Peru, the first time Chinese weapons were used to equip Peru’s armed forces. A report released by the Pentagon last April estimated that China’s arms sales from 2010 to 2014 totalled about US$15 billion.