Who Supplies China’s Weapons?

The People’s Liberation Army at a Glance from DOD

Services: Army, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, Strategic Support Force.

Personnel: Approximately 2 million in regular forces.

Recruit base: Conscription, some volunteer.

Equipment profile: Primarily domestic systems heavily influenced by technology derived from other countries; modern weaponry in each service; some advanced weaponry.

Core strength: Long-range precision strike, information warfare, nuclear retaliatory capability.Developing strengths: Maritime power projection, special operations.
Key vulnerabilities: Logistics, rigid command structure, joint warfare.

The structural reforms also established a separate Army headquarters, elevated China’s missile force to a full service by establishing the PLA Rocket Force, unified China’s space and cyber capabilities under the Strategic Sup-port Force, and created a Joint Logistics Sup-port Force to direct precision support to PLA operations.  The decision to place the Army, which has traditionally played a dominant role in PLA leadership, on equal footing with the PLA’s other services underscores a postreform emphasis on jointness. Overall reforms, which the CMC aims to complete by 2020, are expected to touch all levels of the PLA, incluing cutting approximately 300,000 personnel and refining military doctrine and policies.

RFE looks at who supplies China’s Weapons:

Profound changes are taking place in the international situation, as manifested in the his-toric changes in the balance of power, global governance structure, Asia-Pacific geostrategic landscape, and international competition in the economic, scientific and technological, and military fields. The forces for world peace are on the rise; so are the factors against war. In the foreseeable future, a world war is unlikely, and the international situation is expectedto remain generally peaceful. There are, however, new threats from hegemonism, power politics, and neointerventionism. International competition for the redistribution of power, rights, and interests is tending to intensify. Terrorist activities are growing increasinglyworrisome. Hotspot issues, such as ethnic, religious, border, and territorial disputes, are complex and volatile. Small-scale wars, conflicts, and crises are recurrent in some regions.Therefore, the world still faces both immediate and potential threats of local wars DIa reported:

—Excerpt from China’s Military Strategy, May 2015 DIA DOD