China's Emergent Military Aerospace and Commercial Aviation Capabilities

Today we're going to discuss the emerging aerospace capabilities and the future trends of the Chinese aerospace, both market as well as military capabilities, and what the implications are for United States security and our commercial well-being and interests. For over two decades, the People's Liberation Army has been attempting to modernize its aerospace capabilities. As China's white paper said last year, the PLA Air Force seeks to transition from a territorial-based air defense force to one capable of both farther out offensive and defensive operations. To this end, it continues to develop or buy or license new combat aircraft, missile defense capabilities, command and control systems, improve pilot training and quality of its personnel, and strengthen its logistics as well as equipment support capabilities. They're not just future aspirations. In recent years, the PLA has made demonstrable strides in that direction.