In recent times, cases of corruption within the Chinese Communist Party’s military industrial complex have been on the rise, with top executives of state-owned enterprises being either dismissed or mysteriously disappearing. The CCP issued newly revised regulations on military equipment research and development yesterday (February 5th), emphasizing the need to strengthen quality control. Analysts believe that this move by the authorities confirms significant issues with the quality of military equipment within the CCP. Insiders have previously revealed that corruption has severely impacted the production quality of military products, with reports of armed helicopters crashing during test flights due to parts failing inspection.
According to Xinhua News Agency on February 5th, the newly revised “Regulations on Military Equipment Research and Development” will come into effect on March 1, 2025.
The regulations consist of 8 chapters and 49 articles, aiming to achieve efficient and low-cost weapon equipment, promote independent innovation, independent development, independent control, and combine open exchange. The regulations also stress the need to strengthen quality and effectiveness control, while systematizing the norms of equipment research quality control, cost control, acceptance evaluation, and enhancing supervision and oversight.
Commentator Li Lin told Epoch Times that the CCP’s revision of these regulations indicates significant issues with the quality of military equipment, possibly linked to the recent downfall of many military industry leaders due to corruption. Despite various regulations concerning weapon and equipment quality being enacted over the years, simply issuing documents does not resolve quality problems. Regarding innovation, since Xi Jinping came to power, the CCP’s notorious practices of stealing technology internationally have been widely condemned.
The CCP’s J- series fighter jets have long been criticized for being imitations or plagiarisms of former Soviet and American aircraft. The domestically-produced C919 passenger aircraft, purportedly made in China, is actually assembled using various international components. A French investigative documentary revealed that the Chinese-made C919 aircraft stole technology from Airbus, a French company.
A search through historical records shows that in June 5, 1987, the Chinese Defense Science and Industry Commission issued the “Regulations on Military Product Quality Management,” followed by the issuance of Weapon Equipment Quality Management Regulations in September 30, 2010 during Hu Jintao’s era. After Xi’s takeover, the military’s “Equipment Management Regulations” were released in November 2013.
Over the past year, a large number of major military state-owned enterprises’ executives have been arrested or gone missing. It’s customary for these executives to conduct visits and exchanges before the Lunar New Year, but recently, the chairpersons and officials of major enterprises such as China National Nuclear Corporation, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation, and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation have mysteriously disappeared, sparking speculations of their downfall.
China Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Group, responsible for converting the Ukrainian carrier Varyag into the Liaoning, China’s first domestically-built aircraft carrier, and manufacturing the domestically-built Shandong carrier, saw its general manager Sun Bo and chairman Hu Wenming succumb to similar fates. The former chairman of China Aviation Industry Corporation, which manufactures the J-series fighter jets, Tan Ruisong, was arrested last year for corruption. Yang Wei, dubbed the “father of the J-20,” was recently dismissed from the same company. Executives of China Shipbuilding Group, which produces the domestically-made Type 076 amphibious assault ship, have also been covertly purged recently.
The CCP has at least 12 military state-owned enterprises, including China National Nuclear Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, China Aviation Industry Corporation, China Shipbuilding Corporation, China Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Group, China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation, China Ordnance Equipment Corporation, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, China Aviation Engine Group, China Electronics Information Industry Group, and China Academy of Engineering Physics. Public records suggest that almost none of these military state-owned enterprises have been spared in the ongoing anti-corruption campaign.
In 2018, the Chinese State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence and the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission issued a new version of the weapon equipment research and production license category, significantly lowering the threshold for entry into the military product market compared to the 2015 version, enabling small and medium-sized private enterprises to engage in research, production, and maintenance of weapon equipment.
Zhao Jie, Deputy Director of Technology at Luoyang Oqi Company, directly involved in the manufacturing of CCP military products for 13 years, recently disclosed to Epoch Times that corruption runs rampant within the CCP’s military industrial sector. Many private subcontractors participate in military design and manufacturing, becoming conduits for official corruption. For instance, the helmet for the J-10 jet, with a government-approved research and development budget of 10 million RMB, sees 5 million RMB diverted to military research institutes, leaving the remaining 5 million RMB for the private enterprise responsible for production. To ensure successful production, these enterprises must pay substantial bribes, with at least 1 million RMB going to the leadership of the research institute, making it unlikely for quality products to be developed.
Zhao Jie also revealed that the leadership within military research institutes he interacted with displayed severe corruption, passing inadequate quality products as acceptable after receiving bribes. In 2021, a subcontractor produced bolts without inspection that were directly fitted onto J-10 armed helicopters, resulting in a crash during a test flight.