Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping recently ordered a revision of regulations on military equipment research amid frequent corruption scandals in the Chinese military-industrial complex. Analysts suggest this move underscores significant quality issues within the military’s arsenal.
On Feb. 5, Xi, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission, signed an order to promulgate a set of revised regulations on scientific research related to military equipment.
The regulations, comprising 49 articles in eight chapters, will be implemented starting March 1, according to China’s state-run media Xinhua News Agency.
“The regulations set rules for the quality control, cost management, acceptance procedures, support measures, and safety and confidentiality issues of relevant work,” reads the Xinhua report.
“[The regulations] clearly outline a vision for relevant work that features high quality, efficiency, low costs and sustainable development, spelling out a development model that integrates original innovation, independent research and development, controllability and open exchange.”
Li Linyi, a senior editor and commentator for the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times specializing in China and international affairs, said he believes that Xi’s recent move indicates significant issues with the quality of military equipment, which may be linked to the recent downfall of several prominent figures in the military industry due to corruption.
“Over the years, several regulations concerning weapons and equipment quality have been introduced, but quality cannot be solved simply by issuing documents,” he told The Epoch Times in an interview conducted in Chinese.
CCP’s Anti-Corruption Effort
Amid the CCP’s purge over the past year, a large number of high-ranking figures from major state-owned military enterprises have either been removed from their positions or have gone missing.The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, responsible for converting the Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag into China’s first domestically produced aircraft carrier Liaoning, as well as building the aircraft carrier Shandong, has seen its General Manager Sun Bo and Chairman Hu Wenming both removed from their positions.
Tan Ruisong, the former chairman of China National Aviation Industry Corporation, which was involved in producing the J-series fighter jets, was under probe in 2024 due to corruption. Yang Wei, known as the “Father of the J-20,” an expert at the same company, was recently dismissed.
High-level officials from the China Shipbuilding Group, responsible for producing the domestically manufactured Type 076 amphibious assault ship, have also recently faced a secretive purge.
Helicopter Crash
Zhao Jie, a professional with 13 years of experience in military product manufacturing in China, recently revealed to The Epoch Times the level of corruption within the CCP’s military industry.A large number of private subcontractors have been involved in military design and manufacturing, acting as the “middlemen” for officials’ corruption, and budget allocations intended for research and development are siphoned off, leading to compromised product quality, according to Zhao, who once served as the deputy director of Luoyang Oqi Precision Parts Manufacturing Company.
He gave an example of a Z-10 helicopter crash due to a substandard bolt.
“A bolt for a Z-10 helicopter was produced by an outsourced factory assigned by the 613 Institute [Luoyang Institute of Electro-optical Devices]. This bolt required a quenching process to ensure a high level of hardness.
Copying Western Technology
In addition to corruption, Beijing has also been criticized for copying Western technology.The Chinese military’s J-series fighter jets, for instance, have long been accused of being copies or adaptations of former Soviet and U.S. aircraft.
Since Xi Jinping came to power, the CCP has become notorious for stealing technology internationally, said Li Linyi.
Zhao Jie attributed part of the lack of innovation to corruption as well.
“For instance, the helmet for the J-10 fighter jet had a government-approved budget of 10 million yuan ($1,368,167) for research and development,” he said. “The military research institute took away 5 million yuan ($684,083), and the remaining 5 million yuan ($684,083) was subcontracted to a private enterprise responsible for production.
“The company had to at least bribe the leaders of the research institute with nearly 1 million yuan (136,816), and the remaining 4 million yuan ($547,272) was allocated for production costs, including materials, labor wages, etc. Given this, how could they possibly produce high-quality products?”
Zhao, currently a China Democracy Party member, said the system of the CCP dictates that its technology can only be reproduced through imitation, with very little true innovation.
“After coming to the United States, I met many Chinese people who [bragged to] me about China’s J-20 fighter jet, the recently [discussed] sixth-generation fighter, and various other weapons, all of which seemed quite advanced,” he previously told The Epoch Times. “I told them that they hadn’t truly understood the situation.”
Having worked with the 613 Institute for years, Zhao said he now recognizes that under a dictatorship and authoritarian system, corruption inevitably arises.
“The leaders at the 613 Institute are greedy and crave fame. Important tasks, which should take a long time to overcome and develop, are rushed because they are unwilling to wait and instead want to quickly copy others,” he said.
“In fact, this is the case across every industry in the country.”
