Explaining and Influencing Chinese Arms Transfers

This paper addresses the factors motivating Chinese conventional arms sales and speculates on means to influence them. The author describes the history of China's weapons exports and examines various supply- and demand-side reasons for such transfers. In developing both explanations, the author tries to identify recurring pattems in the global arms trade. The paper concludes that if China manages to sustain its extraordinary rate of development, it will demand a larger role in shaping the international order and that there will be an increased use of arms transfers to realize security, versus strictly economic objectives.