Chinese arms firm shows Nato-standard artillery with aim of boosting weapon exports

With Russian weapons industry tied up by Ukraine war and Western sanctions, Norinco recalibrates in hunt for new sales opportunities

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Representatives of Chinese state-owned firm Norinco at the Eurosatory Defence and Security expo in Paris on June 18. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 4:01pm, 24 Jun 2024Updated: 6:36pm, 24 Jun 2024

China has displayed Nato-standard artillery at a leading defence exhibition in France in an attempt to boost its land-based weapons exports, but it faces fierce sales competition from its Western counterparts and geopolitical headwinds, analysts said.

Last week, 61 Chinese defence contractors took part in Eurosatory, one of the largest defence exhibitions in Europe, a significant increase from the previous show in 2022 when fewer than 10 companies from China were present at the Paris event.

The country’s largest land-based weapons manufacturer, China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco), had miniature models of its PLZ-52 and truck-mounted SH-15 155mm self-propelled howitzers on display.

Both Norinco’s howitzers have a Nato-standard calibre of 155mm. The PLZ-52, also known as PLZ-05A, does not have an export record. But its PCL-181 – known as SH-15 for export – has been sold to Pakistan and Ethiopia.

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As part of the communist bloc, China was reluctant to produce Nato-standard 155mm artillery until the late 1980s.