Recent data revealed that China has ranked the top two as the world's largest arms dealer. The said ranking excluded the country from estimates before 2020 for lack of transparency. However, the report claimed that credible financial information on four major Chinese companies has shed light that China ranks higher than Russia in the arms industry.
Last Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) confirmed that China is the top two leading arms dealer in the world, reported Financial Post. Its data showed that from 2015 through 2017, Chinese companies have been engaged in weapons production even at present. The institute said it is now possible for them to do a comprehensive estimate on China on the scale of its arms industry.
During 2017, the Chinese companies were revealed to have generated 54.1 billion USD on arms dealing. Based on estimates of that year, it would have made it to the top 20 arms producers of the world. The institute also revealed that three of the four companies would have ranked in the top 10 as well. The institute also compared the numbers with US companies.
The report showed that in 2017, US companies only generated 226.6 billion while Russia was estimated to have sold a total of 37.7 billion. These numbers put the three companies at the top three for that year.
The Chinese companies who served as arms dealers were aircraft and avionics group Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), land systems-focused China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO), China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), and China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC). In 2017, AVIC generated 20.1 billion USD of sales, NORINCO at 17.2 billion, CETC at 12.2 billion, and CSGC at 4.6 billion, respectively.
During a public holiday, China's foreign and defense ministries were inquired about the data to which they refused to comment. The same goes for the four cited Chinese companies who were allegedly among the top arms dealers of the world.
In other news, Maritime Executive revealed that these Chinese arms companies worked in one arms production sector. AVIC was said to be engaged in mostly aircraft and avionics. Compared to the other non-Chinese arms companies who only produce military products in different sectors such as aerospace, land systems, and shipbuilding, the Chinese companies were participating in distinct sectors. The US companies, for example, only had one company participating in a specific sector.
The report claimed that at least one Chinese company did business in aerospace, one in electronics, while another worked on systems sectors. It was then concluded that CSIC and CSSC engaged in military-related services such as repairs and services. It was also precluded that both companies must have been making more sales than Huntington Ingalls and Naval Group who each generated sales reaching 6.5 billion USD and 4.1 billion USD, respectively.
