China arms exports to Africa skyrocketed between 2008 and 2017 by almost 55 percent, a new report published on Monday said. Worldwide, the study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which examined the volume of international transfers of major weapons between 2008 and 2017, showed China’s arms exports represented 5.7 per cent of the world’s share of arms exports between 2013-17. The report was published a week after China unveiled an 8.1 per cent increase in military spending over a three-year period. The report showed China delivered major arms to 48 countries in the past five years, with Pakistan topping the list, followed by Bangladesh and Algeria. Although the volume of China’s arms exports to Pakistan remained roughly the same in both periods, its share of Pakistan’s arms imports rose from 45 per cent in 2008–12 to 70 per cent in 2013–17 due to the overall decrease in Pakistan’s arms imports between those periods,” the report stated.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 20, 2018 12:45 UTC