New Direction for Chinas Defense Industry

Since the early 1980s, a prominent and consistent conclusion drawn from research on China's defenseindustrial complex has been that China's defenseproduction 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 defenseindustrial 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 longterm 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.