The US greatly increased its arms exports in the past five years despite the downward trend of the global arms trade, the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has revealed.

This shows US arms firms and some politicians took advantage of wars to become rich, analysts said.

Arms exports by the US grew by 14 per cent between 2012-16 and 2017-21, increasing its global share from 32 per cent to 39 per cent, the SIPRI said in a press release on Monday.

US arms exports in 2017-21 more than doubled those of the second largest exporter, Russia, the SIPRI said.

By comparison, the figures for Russia and China shrank by 26 percent and 31 percent, respectively, according to the SIPRI.

The US State Department admitted in a document released in late 2021 that weapon transfers and the arms trade are important instruments of the US' foreign policy, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday.

When providing military equipment and trade licenses of defense products to allies and partners, the US would consider many factors including politics, military, economy and purpose of use, the US document said.

Citing a report by US media, CCTV reported that the US not only establishes national security and foreign policy as key goals of the overseas arms trade, but also sees it as major opportunities to push forward innovation and create jobs.

US politicians and businesspeople have been colluding with each other to incite confrontation and conflict for personal gains, as increasing US arms exports allowed them to earn more money through wars, CCTV quoted analysts as saying.

Over the past 20 years, US arms firms spent as much as $2.5 billion in lobbying to influence national defense policies for the weapons and equipment they make, and some US politicians joined arms firms after their political careers, taking advantage of their resources in influencing the US government's foreign policy and seeking export deals for the arms companies, CCTV reported, citing a US media report.

Global Times