A major influx of Chinese defense companies is catching and surpassing their U.S. and European counterparts, with six new Chinese defense enterprises now among the world’s 15 largest defense companies, according to a report released Tuesday.
Aviation Industry Corporation of China now ranks fifth on the list, with an estimated $24 billion in annual defense-related revenue, ahead of such well-known Western rivals as BAE Systems and General Dynamics and just below companies such as Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. Two more Chinese companies landed in the top 10, according to a survey released by Defense News.com: China North Industries Group Corporation Ltd, and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp.
The U.S., which had nine companies in the top 15 in previous surveys, had just five in the latest Defense News survey, while just four European companies cracked the top 15. None of the top six Chinese firms were even listed among the top 100 defense firms a year ago.
Lockheed Martin and Boeing continued to hold down the top two slots on the survey, with $50.5 billion and $34 billion in revenues from defense business in 2018.
China South Industries Group Corp., China Electronics Technology Group and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. rounded out China’s top 15 companies, but these numbers could significantly understate the size of China’s defense sector due to weak transparency laws and lack of complete disclosure of defense spending, according to Defense News.
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