A New Direction for China's Defense Industry

A New Direction for China's Defense Industry

Author: Evan S. Medeiros

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2005-12-19

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 0833040790

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Since the early 1980s, a prominent and consistent conclusion drawn from research on China's defense-industrial complex has been that China's defense-production capabilities are rife with weaknesses and limitations. This study argues for an alternative approach: From the vantage point of 2005, it is time to shift the focus of current research to the gradual improvements in and the future potential of China's defense-industrial complex. The study found that China's defense sectors are designing and producing a wide range of increasingly advanced weapons that, in the short term, are relevant to a possible conflict over Taiwan but also to China's long-term military presence in Asia. Part of a larger RAND Project AIR FORCE study on Chinese military modernization, this study examines the current and future capabilities of China's defense industry. The goals of this study are to 1.


Defense Modernization in the People's Republic of China

Defense Modernization in the People's Republic of China

Author: Jonathan D. Pollack

Publisher:

Published: 1979

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13:

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Chinese decisionmakers have used various strategies in their past efforts to modernize their defense establishment. Any effort to amend previous strategies will be constrained both by the competing demands of other economic sectors and by continuing deficiencies in China's scientific and industrial manpower base. Affecting these constraints in a significant way can succeed only as part of a systematic long-term development effort. A 'quick-fix' defense option for the PRC (that is, one premised on rapid assimilation of advanced foreign military technologies and extensive weaponry purchases abroad) is not feasible for Chinese security planners. To attempt such a strategy would severely tax the available budgetary and manpower resources. It would also compromise a 20 year effort to create an indigenous base for military research and production, even though the domestic defense industries lag significantly behind the technological capacities of the superpowers. Of necessity, therefore, Chinese security strategy will continue to rely heavily on both a political and diplomatic component, rather than depending exclusively upon military acquisitions and deployments.


The Defense Budget of the People's Republic of China

The Defense Budget of the People's Republic of China

Author: Richard A. Bitzinger

Publisher:

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13:

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As Asia looms larger in Western, and particularly U.S., security calculations, interest in the People's Republic of China (PRC) as a potential Security concern has grown. As China attempts to modernize its forces, is it becoming a "threat" to Western security in the region, and, if so, does it constitute a direct military threat? How successful have the Chinese been in upgrading their armed forces? How capable is China of projecting its forces beyond its borders? In attempting to answer these questions, it would be useful to know where current Chinese strategic and military priorities lay, and whether the PRC is investing enough resources in these priorities to constitute a serious security concern for the West. Since defense budgets are often a critical indicator of national defense priorities and policies, Western interest in Chinese defense spending has also grown considerably. The size of its defense budget, the rate of growth (or decline) in its military expenditures, and what it spends its defense dollars on can reveal much about a country's national security intentions and military plans. Defense budgets are usually an indicator of a country's military modernization priorities, and what future military capabilities it might possess. They can also serve as a gauge of a country's defense commitment and resolve, or its potential to threaten others.


China and the Arms Trade

China and the Arms Trade

Author: Anne Gilks

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-03-24

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1000866351

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First Published in 1985, China and the Arms Trade offers a detailed analysis of Chinese arms aid policy to examine Beijing’s changing nature of foreign and domestic policy. Military aid, like war, is a continuation of foreign policy by other means. The previous perception of China offering special and selfless military assistance seems no longer accurate. The nature of these Chinese aid now appears more complex and contradictory. China, now like other great powers, take an active role in the lucrative international arms bazaar. As one Chinese official said about his country’s more hard-headed arms sales policy, ‘we cannot sell at friendship prices all the time’. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of Chinese foreign policy, strategic studies, Chinese politics, international relations and defence studies.


China’s Incomplete Military Transformation

China’s Incomplete Military Transformation

Author: Michael S. Chase

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2015-02-13

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 0833088300

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This report examines many of the weaknesses in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) human capital and organization realms, its combat capabilities across various domains, and China's defense research and industrial complex. Furthermore, the report analyzes how these weaknesses affect the PLA's performance of missions tasked by Beijing. China's military isn't ready to win wars despite spending heavily to modernize. The People's Liberation Army suffers from 'potentially serious weaknesses' that could limit its ability to conduct the operations required to fight and win future conflicts. "Although the PLA's capabilities have increased dramatically, its remaining weaknesses increase the risk of failure to successfully perform the missions the Chinese Communist Party leaders may task it to perform," the report says. It cited Taiwan contingencies, maritime claim missions, protecting sea lines of communications and some non-war military operations. The report looks at two critical shortcomings: institutional and combat capabilities. On institutional issues, the PLA faces shortcomings regarding outdated command structures, quality of personnel, professionalism and corruption. Combat weaknesses include logistical, insufficient strategic airlift capabilities, limited numbers of special-mission aircraft, and deficiencies in fleet air defense and anti-submarine warfare.