China Miles Away From Toppling U.S. In Weapons Sales

Despite the fact that 15 of the largest defense firms in the world are Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), a recent analysis by RAND Corp. says Beijing lags far behind the US in weapons sales, selling only $4 billion in arms goods and services, compared with $8.8 billion for Russia and $153.3 billion for the United States.

Photo Insert: Lockheed Martin of the US raked in $62.562 billion in defense revenue

The February 2022 analysis conducted by the California-based think-tank said GE topped the list of defense-related companies in 2020, netting $79.619 billion in defense and non-defense revenue, followed by China’s Norinco with $70.303 billion, AVIC of China with $67.911 billion, and CSSC of China with $66.911 billion, Lockheed Martin of the US with $62.562 billion in defense revenue, and $2.836 billion for non-defense revenue for a total of $65.398 billion, Raytheon of the US with $42 billion in defense revenue and $23 billion in non-defense revenue for a total of $65 billion, Boeing of the US with $32.4 billion in defense revenue and $25.758 billion in non-defense revenue for a total of $58.158 billion.

Airbus of Netherlands and France also sold weapons worth $12.004 billion out of its total revenue of $56.970 billion. General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Honeywell are at the bottom of the list but they all sold more defense weapons than their Chinese counterparts.

The top military exports of China in 2019, the RAND report added, were 622 ships, 359 aircraft, 271 armored vehicles, 159 missiles, 42 sensors, and 19 artillery pieces.

The study of China’s defense industrial base (DIB) was required by Section 1260C of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. The sheer size of China's DIB makes it opaque to outsiders and unwieldy for the Chinese government.

Last year, In 2021, China's gross domestic product (GDP) was $16.9 trillion, second only to that of the United States, at $22.9 trillion. China's overall economic size would support its burgeoning DIB, the report’s authors Cortney Weinbaum, Caolionn O 'Connell, Steven W. Popper, M. Scott Bond, Hannah Jane Byrne, Christian Curriden, Gregory Weider Fauerbach, Sale Lilly, Jared Mondschein and Jon Schmidt stressed.

Nonetheless, they added, “tension between desire for entrepreneurial innovation while securing Party control yields uncertainty and inefficiencies. The Chinese government's centralized power and decision-making help drive whole-of-government strategies.

President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have been working to increase their influence and even direct decision-making within defense firms. By linking defense budget to GDP, China can reliably forecast and plan future defense spending.”

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic