Arms Exports and Arms Control in Mainland China: The Manufacture and Trade of Major Weapons Systems, 1989-92

Abstract

The United States has repeatedly accused the Chinese of failing to meet their arms control commitments. This paper examines the export trends of China’s major weapons systems (naval, air, land, missile technology) between 1989 and 1992 by analyzing recorded arms sales, domestic licensed and nonlicensed manufacturing, and formal agreements for arms control. The possibility that the Chinese have met the letter, rather than the spirit, of their obligations is specifically examined by looking at the stabilizing and destabilizing impacts of technological exports.