Huanqiu (Global Times) published a report from a Russian media Military Messenger’s publication about China’s military power and development. It said, “Over the past decade, the Chinese army has gone through a complete makeover and confidently advanced to be in the top three of the world’s most powerful armies. It may even be too conservative to say that the Chinese army ranks third.”
The article stated, “While keeping the quantity of its military equipment almost unchanged, the Chinese PLA has updated the quality of its equipment by leaps and bounds. The production capacity of Chinese military enterprises is very large. There are three countries in the world whose military enterprises currently have the ability to manufacture almost all types of weapons and equipment, not only to meet domestic demand, but also for export. China is one of them.”
The article admitted that the Chinese army is technologically backward in some particular areas, but the large quantities enable it to compensate. The numerous military enterprises can ensure an uninterrupted weapon supply in times of war. In addition, Chinese military enterprises in all areas do not have the issue of overreliance on foreign countries for spare parts and technical help.
The article concluded that, if nothing unexpected happens, in 15 to 20 years the Chinese PLA will be the world’s most powerful army in all respects.
Source: Huanqiu, August 14, 2013
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2013-08/4240291.html