Weapons of Influence: Unpacking China’s Global Arms Strategy

This article explores the strategic motivations behind China’s arms sales and uses Chinese-language analyses from influential party and military institutions to identify five main interests driving Chinese arms exports: protecting economic investments, gaining influence in conflict zones, enhancing partner military capabilities, building diplomatic relationships, and offsetting research and development costs. The article integrates primary sources to reveal how arms sales advance Beijing’s geopolitical aims. The findings highlight how China’s arms trade shapes partner and adversary military capabilities and underscore the need for the United States and its allies to compete in the arms trade to mitigate China’s growing influence.