China is arming the Global South — and expanding its influence
China has turned its defence industry into a formidable exporter, reshaping security across the Global South. As researcher Tahir Mahmood Azad argues, its weapons come bundled with ties that draw states into Beijing’s strategic orbit.
Over the past two decades, China has transformed its defence industry from a largely import-dependent system into one of the world’s most dynamic military-industrial complexes. Once associated with reverse engineering and low-cost production, China’s defence sector now produces advanced fighter aircraft, precision missiles, naval platforms, unmanned systems and emerging technologies such as hypersonic glide vehicles as well as electromagnetic warfare (EMW) capabilities. The result is a defence industry that sustains the modernisation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) while competing aggressively in global arms markets, particularly across the Global South.
China’s military-industrial rise is rooted in long-term structural reforms. Since the late 1990s, Beijing has reorganised state-owned defence conglomerates, invested heavily in research and development, and promoted civil-military integration. The “Made in China 2025” initiative emphasised dual-use technologies, enabling civilian innovations in artificial intelligence, robotics, aerospace and electronics to feed directly into military applications. This integration underpins China’s ability to offer everything from small arms to advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ballistic missiles.
Collaboration between civilian technology firms and defence enterprises has accelerated the development of stealth aircraft, long-range precision missiles and sophisticated surveillance platforms.
China’s defence sector is dominated by four principal state-owned enterprises: Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), China North Industries Group (NORINCO), and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). These conglomerates manage production across the land, air, sea, space and cyber domains — from armoured vehicles and small arms to advanced missiles, satellites, and naval platforms.
Civil-military integration has been central to this transformation. Collaboration between civilian technology firms and defence enterprises has accelerated the development of stealth aircraft, long-range precision missiles and sophisticated surveillance platforms. With one of the world’s largest military budgets, China invests heavily in testing emerging technologies such as directed-energy systems and advanced navigation and positioning systems, reinforcing the competitiveness of Chinese defence firms internationally.
Technological advancements and strategic capabilities
China’s defence industry has moved decisively beyond basic manufacturing to develop cutting-edge military technologies. The most consequential advances span four domains:
Hypersonic weapons
China has made significant progress in hypersonic glide vehicles and manoeuvrable missiles capable of evading contemporary missile defence architectures. These systems represent a major leap in strategic capability, enabling rapid, precision strikes at intercontinental ranges and fundamentally complicating adversary deterrence calculations.
UAVs and unmanned systems
Chinese UAVs have become flagship export products. The Wing Loong series and CH-series drones are widely used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and precision strike operations. Their affordability and availability — combined with fewer political restrictions than comparable US systems such as the MQ-9 Reaper — have made them attractive to states across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Electromagnetic warfare (EMW)
Chinese firms have developed sophisticated electromagnetic and electronic warfare systems for jamming, cyber operations and signal intelligence. These capabilities enhance both domestic military effectiveness and export potential, particularly for countries seeking to strengthen their information warfare posture.
Navigation and positioning systems
China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) now provides global coverage and underpins the precision guidance of Chinese missiles, drones and autonomous systems. BDS reduces reliance on the US GPS network and represents a strategic infrastructure asset supporting both civilian commerce and military operations.
Its primary markets include Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand, which together absorbed more than half of all Chinese arms exports in that period.
Expansion into global arms markets
According to the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database (2025), China ranked fourth among global arms exporters from 2020 to 2024, accounting for 5.8% of the global market and supplying major systems to over 40 countries.
Its primary markets include Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand, which together absorbed more than half of all Chinese arms exports in that period. The JF-17 Thunder and J-10CE fighter aircraft exemplify China’s capacity to offer co-produced, affordable combat platforms. In Europe, Serbia has emerged as the first NATO-adjacent state to procure Chinese drones and air defence systems, signalling the reach of Chinese exports into geopolitically sensitive markets.
Beijing further reinforces its position through technology transfers, joint production agreements and financing packages, making Chinese systems accessible to developing nations that face restrictions from traditional Western suppliers.
Challenges and implications
Despite its rapid ascent, China’s defence industry faces real constraints. Quality and reliability concerns persist in some exported systems, and competition from the US, Russia and European suppliers remains intense in high-end markets. Geopolitical friction complicates transactions: some partner states are wary of deepening military dependence on Beijing, while Western export controls and sanctions imposed on Chinese defence firms disrupt certain supply chains.
There are also broader strategic implications. China’s arms transfers are frequently bundled with infrastructure investment, trade agreements and digital connectivity, creating layered dependencies that extend well beyond the military domain.
The case of Iran illustrates this complexity: Beijing has provided dual-use missile and drone components, facilitated sanctions evasion networks and is reportedly close to finalising a deal to supply CM-302 anti-ship missiles. Meanwhile, Serbia’s acquisition of FK-3 air defence systems and CH-series drones marks the first Chinese military aviation and surface-to-air missile (SAM) exports into Europe, raising concerns in Brussels and Washington about strategic dependencies within the continent.
The integration of BeiDou navigation systems and Chinese-manufactured drones into partner countries’ security architectures further raises long-term concerns about interoperability, data sovereignty and strategic alignment.
Spanning the full spectrum from small arms and naval platforms to hypersonic weapons, electromagnetic warfare systems and precision-guided UAVs, China’s defence industry has achieved both technological sophistication and market scale.
Projecting influence
The rise of China’s military-industrial power represents one of the defining developments of contemporary global security. Spanning the full spectrum from small arms and naval platforms to hypersonic weapons, electromagnetic warfare systems and precision-guided UAVs, China’s defence industry has achieved both technological sophistication and market scale. Its export strategy — backed by state-owned enterprises, civil-military integration and the BeiDou navigation ecosystem — enables Beijing to deepen partnerships across the Global South while projecting strategic influence far beyond its immediate neighbourhood.
As technological competition intensifies between major powers, China’s capacity to produce and export advanced military systems will remain a central variable in the shifting architecture of global security. Understanding the drivers, mechanisms and implications of this rise is essential for policymakers, strategists and analysts navigating an increasingly contested international order.
