News Analysis
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently released its data on the global arms trade for 2021, and the news for China is not good. Most foreign arms buyers continue to shun Chinese weapons systems.
According to SIPRI, Chinese arms exports for 2017–2021 fell by nearly one-third over the previous five-year period (2012–2016). Altogether, China accounted for only 4.6 percent of all global arms sales, compared to 6.4 percent from 2012 to 2016.
In comparison, the United States captured nearly 40 percent of the global arms market during 2017–2021. This was actually up from the period 2012–2016 by 14 percent.
In fact, China is presently a poor fourth in the international rankings for largest arms exporters. Russia took second place with 19 percent of the global arms market, and France was third with 11 percent. China was only one-tenth of a percentage point ahead of Germany, number five on the list….