US Assistant Secretary of State Clarke Cooper warns potential customers that they may suffer from poor quality weapons from China.

Cooper, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Relations, encourages foreign customers to buy US weapons, because low-quality Chinese weapons could kill their soldiers.

According to him, the United States sells about $ 10 billion in weapons and security equipment each year to countries around the world, but China is seeking to enter this market with tactics of maximum price reduction as well as bribery of officials. host country.

"We have seen many countries seize the opportunity to buy high-tech weapons at low prices, then witness their huge investment collapse. It is important that they understand the dangers of purchasing systems. from China or Russia, "Cooper told a number of foreign ambassadors and attaches at an event in Washington on October 31.

Despite mentioning Russian weapons, U.S. officials focused on criticizing China's weapons systems and training programs for foreign customers. He referred to a series of scandals with military weapons sold by Beijing to African and Middle Eastern countries.

"Cameroon ordered four Chinese Harbin Z-9 helicopters in 2015. One crashed shortly after delivery," Cooper said.

He also cited the case of Kenya that bought Norinco VN-4 armored vehicles, but the Chinese sales representative refused to sit in the vehicle during the test of this vehicle. Nevertheless, the Kenyan government is determined to order and deliver the first VN-4s in 2016.

"Sadly, dozens of Kenyan soldiers died in those vehicles. Still, soldiers continued to patrol the border areas on Chinese-made pickups and armored vehicles, despite the threat. from homemade bombs (IED), "US officials said.

The US Assistant Secretary of State accuses Beijing of using weapons deals to increase influence in the region, as well as boost intelligence gathering. "Buyers please beware," US officials warned several times during the speech.

China's CH-4 armed drone (UCAV) also became Cooper's target. "Many Middle Eastern countries have found that they cannot function after just a few months and are trying to eliminate these systems," US officials said.

The Jordan Army in November 2018 confirmed that it was unhappy with the quality of UCAV imported from China and announced that it would soon eliminate them. One of the biggest problems is that UCAV China is not integrated into the US military satellite network, which is commonly used by Middle Eastern countries.

This makes UCAV China only able to receive signals directly from the ground control station, making their range limited to only 150-200 km from 1,000 km if there is a satellite connection. Beijing has also refused to allow customers to access its military satellite system to increase its operational range for UCAV. Weapon compatibility, command and control systems (C2) are also major obstacles for UCAV China, as Middle East countries often equip Western weapons.

"Choosing the United States as a security partner is always the best in the world," Cooper said, asserting that countries buying US weapons will be sent officers to the International Military Training and Education program, where they acquire the "world leading" knowledge similar to American soldiers. "That doesn't happen in China," Cooper added.

The Chinese embassy in the US has not yet commented on Cooper's speech.

The United States was the world's largest arms exporter during 2014-2018, followed by Russia, France, Germany and China. The total value of US defense contracts during this period increased by 29% compared to 2.7% of China, according to data from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute of Sweden.