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China cuts arms imports to rely more on its own weapons tech but Russia still biggest overseas supplier: SIPRI
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China nearly halved its arms imports over the past five years as it replaced foreign weapons with its own technology but Russia still accounted for the bulk of Beijing’s overseas purchases, according to a Swedish think tank.
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In a report released on Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said China’s arms imports in 2019-23 fell by 44 per cent from the previous five years, putting it 10th on the list of the world’s biggest buyers of foreign weapons.
Russia supplied 77 per cent of China’s purchases, including aircraft engines and helicopter systems, followed by France with 13 per cent.
Despite the war with Russia, Ukraine remained the third-largest source of China’s imports with 8.2 per cent, supplying gas turbines for destroyers and engines for China’s L-15 trainer/light combat aircraft.
SIPRI did not say how China’s imports from Russia and Ukraine changed after the Russian invasion in early 2022. But previous reports from the institute said Ukraine accounted for 5.9 per cent of China’s total arms imports in 2017-21.
Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme, said Russia could not replace Ukraine as a supplier for some of China’s equipment.
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