China Training and Equipping Foreign Militaries to Undermine US: Report

A new type 094A Jin-class nuclear submarine Long March 10 of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy participates in a naval parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of China's PLA Navy in the sea near Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong Province, on April 23, 2019. (Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

China’s communist regime is training and equipping foreign militaries to strengthen its position and undermine U.S. influence, according to a new congressional report.

The regime is also engaged in selling arms to internationally sanctioned nations, including state-sponsor of terrorism Iran, according to the 2023 annual report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), released on Nov. 14.

China’s efforts are part of a broader strategy to replace the United States and “lead the global security order,” according to the report.

“China’s leadership coordinates a range of military activities with foreign security forces, including bilateral and multilateral meetings, functional exchanges, port calls, exercises, and arms sales,” the report says.

Additionally, the regime is increasingly using its military wing to “promote a positive image of China” abroad at the expense of the United States, while also pursuing military, foreign policy, and economic benefits for itself.

“China orients many of its interactions with foreign militaries around undermining U.S. leadership of international security affairs,” the report reads.

“It also uses military exchanges to pursue combat-relevant skills, practice power projection capabilities, and collect intelligence.”

China Providing Arms to Sanctioned Regimes

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, is increasingly supporting authoritarian regimes with arms sales as part of this effort.

The regime is a key player in the proliferation of arms to authoritarian nations engaged in human rights abuses, including Iran, which is currently backing terror groups responsible for the mass murder of Israelis on Oct. 7.

“China is known to provide arms to authoritarian regimes and perpetrators of human rights abuses,” the report says.

“Recipients of China’s arms sales include at least four countries with active mandatory UN embargoes placed upon them at the time of the arms transfers, including the Central African Republic, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan.”

Communist China is now second only to the United States in total arms sales, and the CCP regime is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of military equipment.

Though the regime has long been a competitor in international arms deals, the report notes that it has “improved the quality of its exports and expanded the range of equipment it provides” over the last two decades.

It now sells a full suite of military equipment—including aircraft, ships, and missiles—and is focused on propping up authoritarian powers that would benefit from a less-powerful United States.

To that end, the report says that the CCP is also using military delegations to secure political advantage at international forums, including the Shangri-La Dialogue and other security meetings organized by ASEAN, the SCO, and BRICS.

The report notes Chinese state-owned media coverage, which described the CCP delegation sent to the 2022 Shangri-La dialogue as “combatants” whose duty was to “refute” complaints against the regime and “struggle” against opposition to Beijing’s activities.

CCP Building Partnerships With Authoritarian Powers

Regarding the CCP’s efforts to train with foreign militaries, the report notes that the regime’s military is not as capable of performing in tandem with foreign powers as that of the United States.

The regime is competing with U.S. programs, however, by “counter[ing] with lower prices and the ability to train large numbers of foreign students.”

To that end, Beijing is pursuing military exercises with nations from Africa, south and central Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. CCP military documents reveal that the regime has differing strategies for pursuing such activities based on whether the other nation was a major power, a neighboring country, or a developing country.

In addition to seeking new overseas military bases, the regime is participating in increasingly advanced international military exercises. And it is increasing its capability to operate jointly with partners, which it previously did not do.

“[China] uses bilateral and multilateral exercises to carry out increasingly realistic, combat-oriented training such as live fire drills, combat simulations, air defense, and strike operations,” the report says.

To that end, Russia remains the CCP’s most important military partner and provider of advanced military technologies.

The two powers signed a “no-limits” partnership just weeks before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That partnership was later enhanced as a comprehensive strategic partnership, which has allowed China to become Russia’s most important partner in trade and diplomacy, helping Moscow to carry on amid otherwise devastating international sanctions.

The increased cooperation has also resulted in more joint China-Russia military exercises, including a naval expedition that sailed within miles of the U.S. coastline.

Still, the report says that the United States maintains a crucial advantage over the CCP due to the regime’s own belligerence against its would-be partners.

Though the CCP seeks to use international military exercises to shore up its own reputation, the report says, the regime does “little to develop foreign partner military capacity” and frequently “undermines its own efforts” by using military force against its regional partners to press its illegal claims in the South China Sea.

To that end, the USCC report recommends that Congress receive classified briefings on the CCP’s efforts to train and equip foreign militaries, as well as any measures the Pentagon is taking to mitigate associated risks.