Abstract
China's role as an arms exporter to the Middle East has received little academic attention and its connection to the region's growing arms race and security dynamics remains to a large extent overlooked. Beijing is regarded as a newcomer to the Middle East arms market, and despite being the fourth exporter, China’s share was too small until the early 1980s. However, due to advances in science, technology, innovation, and manufacturing of advanced military platforms and technologies, China has progressed from being a significant importer of conventional arms to an increasingly competitive exporter of major weapons systems over the following decades.
China’s impressive economic performance and growing involvement in regions outside its borders have resulted in strengthened military-security ties (arms deals and weapons co-production) with some Middle Eastern countries (particularly Persian Gulf nations) as one dimension of its overall Middle East strategy. This study traces the trajectory of China as an arm’s exporter and examines the objectives of its cold war and post-cold war arms sales in the Middle East based on three assumptions: an indication of the country’s economic advancement, status establishment, and counterbalancing the influence of the USA and other western countries in the region. Moreover, given that China is competing for markets with one of its closest partners, Russia, it is worth investigating China’s strategic choices and their impact on regional power balances.
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Notes
- 1.
“We will deepen China-Arab military cooperation and exchange. We will strengthen exchange of visits of military officials, expand military personnel exchange, deepen cooperation on weapons, equipment and various specialized technologies, and carry out joint military exercises. We will continue to support the development of national defence and military forces of Arab States to maintain peace and security of the region” Full text of China’s Arab Policy Paper - China.org.cn
- 2.
Washington had refused to sell its own UAVs, citing limits imposed by the MTCR.
- 3.
The term “arms transfers” is used interchangeably with the terms “arms sales” and “arms trade.”
- 4.
The analysis includes the following 16 countries: Afghanistan, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, UAE, Israel, Lebanon, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain.
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Papageorgiou, M.M. (2023). China’s Growing Presence in the Middle East’s Arms Race and Security Dynamics. In: Eslami, M., Guedes Vieira, A.V. (eds) The Arms Race in the Middle East. Contributions to International Relations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32432-1_16
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