February 3, 2008:
Over the last decade, about 40 percent of
Russian arms exports went to China. But that has all evaporated, as Russian
manufacturers feud with the Chinese over stolen technology. The Chinese have
been quite brazen of late, as they copy Russian military equipment, and then
produce their own versions without paying for the technology. Russian officials
are trying to work out licensing deals with the Chinese, but are not finding
much interest. The Chinese say their generals are angry over how Russia sells
technology to potential Chinese enemies, like India. The Russians don't
understand that, as they have been selling weapons to India for decades. Russia
fears that the Chinese have just decided that they don't need to buy Russian
technology, or equipment, any more, and can just steal what they need. Then
again, all this could just be a lot of posturing, as the Chinese negotiate to
get the best deal they can for Russian military technology. It is cheaper to
build under license, because that way you get technical assistance from the developer
of the technology. But in China, old habits die hard.