China Willing to Expand Arms Sales to ‘Friendly Countries,’ Defense Ministry Says
Udumbara
The Chinese communist regime is open to selling weapons to countries it considers “friendly,” a defense official said on Tuesday, signaling Beijing’s ambition to expand its role in the global arms market.
Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a press briefing when asked about reports that “several countries” are in talks with China to purchase military equipment that includes the J-10 fighter jet.
The Chinese regime historically supplied weapons to ideologically aligned countries such as Albania and North Korea, as well as to anti-Western insurgencies such as the Viet Cong and Indonesian communist rebels. It also armed newly independent African countries as they emerged from colonial rule.
In more recent decades, China has found customers among countries that are either too poor to afford Western weaponry or are subject to Western arms embargoes. It sold weapons to both sides during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, continued to supply Pakistan after it faced United Nations sanctions for nuclear tests, and maintained military ties with socialist strongmen such as Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez.
Over the past few years, China competed with major Western suppliers such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, but remains a modest player compared to the United States, which consistently captures between 35 and 40 percent of global arms sales, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The majority of China’s recent arms exports have been concentrated in Asia and Oceania, accounting for 77 percent of its sales, according to SIPRI’s data. Africa represented the second-largest market at 14 percent.
China delivered major arms to 44 countries during this period, but nearly two-thirds of its exports went to Pakistan alone, according to SIPRI. Serbia was China’s second-largest customer, accounting for 6.8 percent of deliveries, followed by Thailand with 4.6 percent.
“While China is looking to increase its arms exports globally, many of the world’s largest importers still choose not to buy major arms from China for political reasons,” the institute said.
Talks of potential J-10 sales to Iran intensified following the recent visit of Tehran’s defense minister to China’s Qingdao city for a high-profile defense forum, which came on the heels of Iran’s brief but intense war with Israel that occurred from June 13 to June 24.
During the fighting, Israel quickly gained air superiority over the Iranian sky. While Iran operates a layered air defense network comprising domestically built systems, foreign-supplied equipment, and modernized versions of older weapons, its air force is largely composed of obsolete American and Soviet aircraft acquired before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In contrast, Israel maintains one of the world’s most advanced air forces, featuring fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighters capable of penetrating air defenses, as well as upgraded F-15 and F-16 aircraft.
Some observers note that Iran—eager to rebuild its airpower but faces difficulties with its stalled efforts to acquire advanced Russian military hardware—may turn to China as an alternative supplier.
