Chinese-made weapons are helping to sustain brutal regimes, wars and a catalogue of human rights abuses across the world, Amnesty International claimed today.

The charge was strongly rejected by authorities in Beijing.

Describing China as "one of the world’s biggest, most secretive and irresponsible arms exporters", Amnesty International accused the Chinese Government of turning a blind eye to the export of weapons, from armoured personnel carriers to revolvers, to countries such as Sudan, Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Liberia.

The report also claimed that European companies, including the British-Italian firm, AgustaWestland, were exploiting the vague terms of Western arms embargoes against China to take part in the development of new weapons, including a state-of-the-art Chinese attack helicopter.

Helen Hughes, an Amnesty arms control researcher, criticised Beijing for refusing to sign up China's $1 billion-a-year arms industry to international agreements that bar the export of weapons to regimes accused of human rights abuses.

"China describes its approach to arms export licensing as ’cautious and responsible’, yet the reality couldn’t be further from the truth," she said.

The 23-page study was rejected today by Chinese officials. Speaking at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional group made up of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the Chinese assistant foreign minister, Li Hui, said: "China and the other SCO member nations strictly follow the relevant international conventions and we live up to our obligations to international bodies and treaties."

Teng Jianqun, of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, said Amnesty report was "groundless", adding: "China's attitude has been widely applauded in the world, and its weaponry sales haven't jeopardized regional peace or caused any human rights disasters."

The human rights group said that the opaque nature of the Chinese arms industry, specifically the relationships between civil projects and military ones, and commercial enterprises attached to former People's Liberation Army units, allows a collection of loopholes by which weapons and technologies are imported and exported from the country.

Barter agreements for Liberian timber and Sudanese oil have allowed Chinese-made AK-47s, grenade launchers and armoured vehicles to reach conflicts in East, West and Central Africa, according to the report. A study of 1,100 weapons found in the Democratic Republic of Congo found that 17 per cent were made in China, Amnesty claimed.

Western arms companies were also accused of complicity in the Chinese weapons industry. Despite US and EU arms embargoes against Beijing dating from the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, firms in Canada, America and Europe were all criticised for exporting parts and technologies for Chinese armaments.

The highly-secret Z-10 attack helicopter was named by Amnesty as a new Chinese weapon benefiting from extensive Western contributions. Under the guise of a parallel civilian project, the report said that Pratt and Witney, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space company (EADS) and AgustaWestland were building turboshafts, rotor blades and transmission systems for the aircraft.

Explore World News

• World Agenda

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Afghanistan News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• Both sides blame US for worsening relations
• Stieg Larsson: losing the plot over his cash
• Odd creature paralysed by incompatible parts