The World Doesn’t Want Beijing’s Fighter Jets

Fighter jet exports represent a unique combination of hard and soft power. If a country can sell fighter jets abroad, that means it can attract customers for sophisticated weapons that can sell for upwards of $100 million, which in turn proves that the country has appeal as a strategic partner. It’s no surprise, then, that Beijing has hankered to become a major fighter exporter for some time.

As China’s global stature grew, many expected that its weapons exports would reflect its place on the world stage. Yet after decades of trying, that simply hasn’t happened. A recent confrontation with the Philippines, where Chinese naval vessels entered Philippine waters without authorization, may indicate the crux of the problem—and this failure may well illustrate a key weakness for China. Essentially, few want to partner up with Beijing.

For decades, China’s growth as a combat aircraft export, a once-influential trade journal, predicted in a headline, “China Poised to Overtake Russia,” and that Beijing would “well outstrip Russia in a decade or so as the combat aircraft provider to the developing world.” Nine years later, opined that “China may emerge as the bargainbasement provider of combat aircraft packages for the export market.”