China has lifted its exports of arms by 143 per cent in five years to usurp Germany as the world’s third biggest trader, amid fears of the country’s increasing military might and role on the global stage.

中国武器出口在5年内增长143%，中国已取代德国成为全球第三大武器贸易国，此际外界对中国日益强大的军事实力及全球影响力日渐担忧。

The numbers, from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, are likely to cause further friction with neighbouring India, not least as China’s biggest client in the past five years was Pakistan, India’s rival in South Asia, which bought 41 per cent of China’s exports.

来自斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所(SIPRI)的这些数据，可能会引起中国与邻国印度的进一步摩擦，特别是过去5年中国最大武器贸易客户是印度在南亚的竞争对手巴基斯坦，巴基斯坦占中国武器出口的41%。

By far the bulk of arms were shipped to Asian neighbours, raising Beijing’s exports from 3 per cent of the global arms market in 2005-09 to 5 per cent in 2010-14, according to Sipri.

斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所的数据先生，中国出口的大部分武器运到了亚洲邻国，中国占全球武器市场的比例从2005年至2009年的3%升至2010年至2014年的5%。

Chinese exports still lag far behind the world leaders. The US exported 31 per cent of global arms in 2010-14, while Russia, which inherited the vast cold war arms complex of the Soviet Union, exported 27 per cent.

中国武器出口仍远远落后于全球领袖。2010年至2014年，美国占全球武器出口市场的31%，俄罗斯占27%。

However, the rapid expansion in Beijing’s military budget in recent years and advanced technology have made Chinese weapons more competitive. This has allowed China to sell more and buy less — imports were down 42 per cent in the latest five-year period compared with the previous one.

然而，最近几年中国军事预算的迅速扩张以及技术的先进提高了中国武器的竞争力。这使中国在增加武器出口同时减少了武器进口，最新5年间，中国武器进口较之前5年下滑42%。

At the beginning of the last decade Beijing was the largest arms importer in the world, while it is now in third place, behind India and Saudi Arabia.

本10年初，中国曾是全球最大武器进口国，如今名列第三，仅次于印度和沙特阿拉伯。

In total, 28 per cent of China’s arms exports went to Bangladesh and Myanmar, while further shipments went to 18 African countries, according to Sipri.

总的来看，中国28%的武器出口流向孟加拉国和缅甸，还有一部分出口流向18个非洲国家。

In addition to boosting trade, these exports help Beijing finance its high-tech armaments programmes, which currently depend mainly on state funds for research and development.

除了扩大贸易以外，这些武器出口有助于中国为其高科技军备计划融资，当前这些计划的研发主要依赖政府资金。

Major deals over the past four years include selling Venezuela armoured vehicles and transport and trainer aircraft; supplying Algeria with three frigates; selling Indonesia hundreds of anti-ship missiles; and exporting armed drones to Nigeria.

过去4年的大规模武器交易包括向委内瑞拉出售装甲车以及运输和教练机；向阿尔及利亚供应3艘护卫舰；向印尼出售数百架反舰导弹；以及向尼日利亚出口武装无人机。

Chinese defence budget is now second only to that of the US and is scheduled to grow at 10.1 per cent this year, outpacing projected economic growth, according to the government’s budget published earlier this month. The increase — the latest in a nearly two-decade string of double-digit rises — shows Beijing intends to prioritise military spending even as economic growth slows.

根据中国政府本月早些时候公布的预算，中国国防预算现在仅次于美国，今年将增长10.1%，超过预期经济增速。中国军费近20年来几乎都保持了两位数的增幅，这一最新数字显示，在经济增速放缓之际，中国计划将军事开支列在优先位置。