Everything you need to know about the weapons China sells to Africa
A pledge by officials to boost defence ties at a high-level security forum would come on top of a 55 per cent jump in five-year arms sales by China to Africa
When defence officials from China and the African nations on Tuesday wrap up a high-level security forum, both sides are expected to vow to enhance defence relations, boosting a bond between the two parties that already includes surging Chinese arms sales to Africa.
China’s participation in peace keeping missions and its setting up of a military base in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, have strengthened defence ties built on top of the increasingly strong economic relationship China has been developing with Africa since the turn of the millennium.
Some one million Chinese citizens today live in Africa while 200,000 Africans work in China.
From 2013 to 2017, China’s arms exports to Africa surged 55 per cent from the previous five-year period of 2008 to 2012, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
While Africa’s overall arms imports decreased 22 per cent over the same period, China’s share of total African arms imports rose 8.6 per cent to 17 per cent.
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Meanwhile, Russian arms exports to Africa fell by 32 per cent, accounting for 39 per cent of total imports to the region. The US accounted for 11 per cent of arms exports to Africa.