China becomes the world's third largest arms exporter Published duration 16 March 2015

image copyright AFP image caption China's exports of weapons surged by 143% in the five years to 2014 compared to the previous five years

China has become the world's third largest exporter of arms after the US and Russia, according to a new report.

China overtook Germany, France and the UK in exporting weapons between 2010 and 2014, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

China now accounts for about 5% of the world's exports of arms.

Three Asian countries, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, accounted for more than two-thirds of those exports.

The world's second largest economy also had 18 African nations as clients during the five year period, according to the study , which said the data reflected the volume of arms deliveries and not the financial value of the deals.

China exports jump

China's exports of major arms rose by 143% in the five years to 2014 from the previous five years.

Meanwhile, Germany's arms exports fell by 43%, while France's dropped 27% in the same time frame.

Overall, that compares to a 16% increase in the volume of arms transferred around the world.

However, despite China's big jump in the global rankings, there is still a sizeable gap between the volume of its exports and those of the top two exporters the US and Russia.

The US accounted for 31% of the world's weapons exports, while Russia sold 27%. Exports from those two countries rose 23% and 37% respectively in the time period.

SIPRI compares arms sales over five year periods because of large fluctuations in the volumes of arms traded year on year.