Military Industry

Abstract

Over the decade of the 1970s, the defence industry has changed from the premier claimant on China’s capital and labour resources to a lower priority sector that must bow to Beijing’s overriding goal of building China into a major economic power by the end of the century. Moreover, the defense industry has been charged with unprecedented research and development and production responsibilities in support of the civilian economy. This does not mean that the Chinese have abandoned the goal of modernising their armed forces, but rather reflects the present leaders’ recognition that they must correct fundamental weakness in the pattern and rate of national economic development before they can undertake any dramatic upgrading of defence capabilities.

This chapter is a revised version of ‘China’ by Sydney Jammes in Nicole Ball and Milton Leitenberg (eds). The Structure of the Defense Industry. (London: Croom Helm, 1983). Gratitude is owed to the editors for their kind assistance. The views expressed in this chapter are those of the author, and not of any US government agency.