The UK authorised £25.6 billion worth of military and dual-use equipment exports to China last year, despite an arms embargo, according to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). This makes China the largest buyer of UK military-related exports in 2023, even though the embargo has been in place since May 2022.
The UK’s embargo is supposed to block sales of military gear that could threaten national security or violate human rights. However, the DBT states that the embargo only covers complete weapons systems, lethal arms, and their components.
China was called the “greatest threat to the UK’s economic security” by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in March after numerous cyberattacks. Despite this, the UK issued licenses for over 100 types of military-related equipment to China, including ballistic test tools, helmet parts, and night-vision technology. Also included were dual-use items like uranium-233, nuclear reactor technology, small arms ammo, lasers, imaging cameras, and information security software.
In June 2023, a Chinese military delegation visited the UK to discuss defence relations. A British Ministry of Defence spokesperson said they talked about national defence strategies and the UK-China military relationship. Two months later, former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly met with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng in Beijing.
Most of the £25.6 billion in exports were for “information security equipment” and related technologies. The DBT claims these items can be sold to countries with arms restrictions if intended for commercial use or if they fall outside the embargo’s scope. However, the DBT has not revealed the specific purposes of these exports or who received them.
There are concerns that some of this equipment could be used for oppression in China. The United Nations reports extensive surveillance of Uyghur Muslims in China, using facial recognition, police stations, and big data analytics. It is unknown if UK-exported equipment is involved in this surveillance.
The UK also approved the sale of nuclear reactor technology, fuel, and uranium-233 to China in 2023. Dr Ian Fairlie, an expert on radiation risks, noted that this technology could be used for both civilian and military purposes. The UK government did not classify this nuclear-related equipment as for commercial use.
China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal, growing from 410 warheads in January 2023 to 500 in January 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
“China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country,” said Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.
The DBT figures also show that the UK approved military equipment sales to at least five other countries under arms embargoes, claiming these sales fall outside the defined scope of the embargoes.