China’s defence industry grows

China’s military might, what it costs and what that means for security around the region, is the subject of much debate right now.

The largest army in the world, with more than two million soldiers, the People’s Liberation Army is not to be trifled with, although the spend on internal state security, which includes paramilitary groups such as the People’s Armed Police, is much higher than on the military.

The debate on the size of the army has masked the gains made in the country’s defence industry.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has just released figures which showed that China has become the world’s fourth-biggest supplier of major weapons over the past five years, knocking France out of the top four. What is notable is that arms production is similar to other industries there – the main advantage of Chinese weapons is their low cost, not their technology.

The three biggest exporters of arms were the US, Russia and Germany. Chinese exports of major weapons increased by 212 per cent between 2009 and 2013, compared with the previous five-year period, and China’s share of global arms exports increased from 2 per cent to 6 per cent.

China’s arms sales were mostly to low- and middle-income countries and almost three-quarters of its exports went to just three clients: Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma.

"The progress in the military industry has been made due to the nation's increase in investments in the field," Shan Xiufa, a research fellow at the Academy of Military Sciences of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), told the Global Times newspaper.

“Weapons produced by China are price competitive and the country is skilful in combining others’ technology,” Shan said, noting that it reflected China’s relatively low innovative capability.

The country’s obsession with boosting innovation cuts across all industry types.

The five biggest arms importers were India, China, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, said the report. Arms imports by states in Asia and Oceania increased by 34 per cent between 2004-2008 and 2009-2013.