The Donald Trump administration is worried that weapons carrying the “Made in China” label are becoming ubiquitous on Middle East battlefields, a Pentagon report revealed earlier this month.
In increasing numbers, traditional US allies are turning to Beijing for technologies that the United States is constrained from exporting as a signatory of international arms control treaties. The Pentagon is increasingly concerned that China’s growing arms sales give the country more clout to secure an economic and military foothold and relationships with US allies in a region where defense officials often control the purse strings.