Article Posted on : - Jan 29, 2010

Arms export from Russia to China has been steadily declining.

MOSCOW (PTI): Buying of arms by Russia's one-time biggest customer, China, has seen a decline and such trend may continue, chief of Russia�s sole state intermediary agency for export-import of defence-related technologies and services has said.

�China's share in our (arms) exports is now less than 18 per cent and will further drop,� Director General of Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaikin said.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Isaikin said the dwindling volume of arms sales to China was logical.

�Their military-industrial complex is successfully developing. That's why China buys very little,� he said.

During the last 15 years, China has been Russia's largest arms buyer followed by India.

In the first decade of the century, beginning from 2001, China has bought $16 billion worth of arms from Russia, including 200 Sukhoi fighters of various modifications, S-300 air defence missiles, Sovremenny class destroyers and Kilo class diesel-electric submarines.

Last year, Russia signed an agreement to sale its 100 RD-93 engines for Chinese J-10 fighters.

Meanwhile, in an apparent reference to India, Isaikin said a similar tendency is visible with other partners also, with the focus shifting from �buyer-seller� relationship to joint development and production of weapon systems.