China Review News (CRN) recently republished a report originally from People’s Liberation Army Daily (PLA Daily) that a mixed civilian and military weapons research, development, and manufacturing system had been established. As of mid-February, more than one hundred civilian enterprises passed the military qualification screening and became eligible to use civilian technologies for weapons development. One example is a civilian robot model that, after some modifications, is now being used for military purposes (such as nuclear reconnaissance). In the past few years, the army has established a system of regulations for managing civilian procurements. In some cases, the cost savings reached 50% and civilian technologies provided significant help in dealing with today’s diversified military missions.
Source: China Review News, February 19, 2012
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1020/1/5/1/102015109.html?coluid=45&kindid=0&docid=102015109&mdate=0219094107