My assumption is the cartoonist is talking about the T-55 tanks the Soviets lent to the PLA, and is unaware that the PLA has made its own tanks since 1956 and hardly any (if any at all) of those old tanks are still in use.
Back in the 1980s, China enjoy a relatively good relation with the west. During this so called “Sino-West Honeymoon period” (a word I saw a Chinese use to describe this moment), PLA incorporate several western technology, both imported and reverse-engineer, into several of their military equipment. You can still see its effect today in that some Chinese equipment look like an amalgamation of both the Soviet and Western technology.
This pretty much ended after the embargo from June 4th incident in 1989, but the west still acted like China still use western equipment sometimes, probably to make themselves feel better or something.
Most likely something to push decoupling and that’s about all one should read into it.
Possibly something about certain companies trying to sell (old) chip making lithography equipment to China. Or anything else. The facts of global trade are that there is probably some components somewhere in Chinese military tech (not literally tanks necessarily [which were obviously chosen because of existing propaganda] but aircraft, comms systems, etc) that has some sourcing in Europe. I’m not talking finished products but materials, base components. And that if Europe cut them off from trade it would mean the Chinese would have to take the time to spin up their own production which could take years or lead to shortages in the meanwhile (or so the propagandist of this piece thinks anyways).
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Yes, it’s very weird. As far as I know, China is one of the few countries that owns all stages of military production.
Chine does not import tanks or tank designs. They ZTZ series is - certainly as far as I know - completely indigenous.
My assumption is the cartoonist is talking about the T-55 tanks the Soviets lent to the PLA, and is unaware that the PLA has made its own tanks since 1956 and hardly any (if any at all) of those old tanks are still in use.
Which is, funnily enough, a lib talking point. Not that you are one, of course, I wouldn’t insult you like that
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“relatively civilized, relatively European”
Back in the 1980s, China enjoy a relatively good relation with the west. During this so called “Sino-West Honeymoon period” (a word I saw a Chinese use to describe this moment), PLA incorporate several western technology, both imported and reverse-engineer, into several of their military equipment. You can still see its effect today in that some Chinese equipment look like an amalgamation of both the Soviet and Western technology.
This pretty much ended after the embargo from June 4th incident in 1989, but the west still acted like China still use western equipment sometimes, probably to make themselves feel better or something.
Most likely something to push decoupling and that’s about all one should read into it.
Possibly something about certain companies trying to sell (old) chip making lithography equipment to China. Or anything else. The facts of global trade are that there is probably some components somewhere in Chinese military tech (not literally tanks necessarily [which were obviously chosen because of existing propaganda] but aircraft, comms systems, etc) that has some sourcing in Europe. I’m not talking finished products but materials, base components. And that if Europe cut them off from trade it would mean the Chinese would have to take the time to spin up their own production which could take years or lead to shortages in the meanwhile (or so the propagandist of this piece thinks anyways).