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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

Is a fall in China’s military exports a sign of stockpiling at home?

  • Chinese arms sales fell by nearly a quarter in 2018-2022, according to new report
  • Geopolitical tensions, Covid-19 disruptions were main factors in the decline, analysts say

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Chinese arms exports fell 23 per cent over the past 10 years, according to new data. Photo: Reuters
Zhao Ziwen

A drop in China’s arms exports could signal military stockpiling in the country amid surging geopolitical tensions and disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to analysts.

New figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) compared China’s arms exports over the two most recent five-year periods. The data showed arms exports from 2018-2022 dropped by 23 per cent compared with 2013-2017.

China’s overall share of global arms exports slipped from 6.3 per cent to 5.2 per cent during the same period, the think tank said in its report.
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Still, in 2018-2022, China surpassed Germany to become the world’s fourth biggest exporter of major arms, following the United States, Russia and France.

The decline in arms exports from China could be a sign that Beijing was focusing more on domestic needs as geopolitical tensions rose, said Ni Lexiong, a professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

02:04

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“The [geopolitical] environment around mainland China is deteriorating, including the Taiwan issue, the border issue with India and, more recently, Sino-Japanese relations,” Ni said. “China has to be ready for confrontations at all times.”
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