From rifles to radar: China upgrades its African arms trade as Russia and the West retreat
For decades, China has supplied African militaries with small arms and land-based equipment such as armoured vehicles, trucks and artillery. Now, it is selling them more specialised weapons, including armed drones and electronic warfare systems. Analysts noted that China’s African arms sales were shifting qualitatively to air-defence systems, armed drones and electronic warfare gear once…
China has been steadily upgrading its arms trade with African nations, shifting from supplying small arms and land-based equipment to more advanced weaponry such as armed drones, electronic warfare systems, and air-defence systems. This shift is particularly noticeable in the Sahel region, where Mali and Burkina Faso have ended defence cooperation with France and US security assistance due to political developments.
In response, these countries have sought Russian military support and purchased Chinese equipment to combat insurgencies. Examples of Chinese arms deliveries include Yitian-L air-defence systems, mobile surveillance radars, surface-to-air missile launchers, and various types of artillery and personnel carriers. Analysts note that the quality of Chinese equipment has improved, and Beijing is willing to sell military hardware to any country not subject to UN sanctions, unlike many Western countries.
Brief written by urgent.news from Reuters Business via SCMP's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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