BEIJING, Mar. 28 -- "China upholds the principles of independence, self-reliance, and self-innovation in developing weapons and equipment, and mainly relies on its own capability to conduct research, development and production," said Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense (MND), at a regular press conference on Thursday.
According to reports, Swedish Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released the report of Trends in International Arms Transfers 2023, which analyzed that China's arms imports from 2019 to 2023 fell by 44% compared to the previous five-year period, while its exports accounted for 5.8% in global. The report stated that China had exported arms to 40 countries and become the world's fourth biggest arms exporter.
In response, the spokesperson pointed out that the Chinese government has all along taken a prudent and responsible attitude towards military products exports, rigorously managed the relevant exports in accordance with China's international obligations and domestic laws and regulations, and strictly followed the three principles for arms exports.
He also elaborated on the three principles, namely that, the exports should be conducive to the legitimate self-defense capability of the recipient country; the exports should not undermine peace, security and stability of the region concerned and the world as a whole; and the exports should not be used to interfere in the internal affairs of the recipient country.