Battles & Wars › Cold War › Military-industrial complex (Eisenhower's 1961 warning)
China's arms makers: NORINCO and AVIC
NORINCO 1980; AVIC formed 2008 (roots 1951)· Arms maker, factory or program· Arms makers & war industry
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
China's two giant state-owned arms groups: NORINCO for guns, tanks and artillery, and AVIC for military aircraft.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
China's modern arms industry began with Soviet help in the 1950s; its first jets were licensed MiGs, and its Type 56 rifle was an AK-47 copy. NORINCO was created in 1980 as Deng Xiaoping's reforms pushed state factories to earn export money. AVIC, the aviation group, took its current form in 2008. Its Chengdu plant builds the J-20 stealth fighter, first flown in 2011. China was the world's fourth-largest arms exporter in 2020–24, with Pakistan its biggest customer.
Why it matters
They give China a largely self-sufficient arms base, central to any Taiwan or South China Sea scenario, and sell cheaper alternatives to Western and Russian weapons.
How we know
SIPRI arms-transfer data, company reports, the US Defense Department's annual reports on China's military, and US sanctions and investment-ban lists that name both companies.
Still debated
How much Chinese designs owe to licensing, copying or espionage versus homegrown work is debated; the J-20's true abilities are unknown outside China.
Connections (2)
▸China's arms makers: NORINCO and AVIC sold arms to both sides in the Iran–Iraq WarWell documented
The connection
During the 1980–88 war, Chinese state arms firms, led by the new NORINCO, sold to both Iran and Iraq: tanks, artillery and rifles to each, F-7 jets to Iraq through Egypt, and Silkworm anti-ship missiles that Iran fired at Gulf shipping. The sales earned billions of dollars and made China a major exporter.
When and how
Iran and Iraq, 1980–88; China officially claimed neutrality and denied many of the sales.
How we know
SIPRI arms-transfer records, US government reports and captured or displayed equipment document the sales.
Debates and open questions
Exact totals are uncertain and estimates vary widely, partly because many deals went through intermediaries such as North Korea and Egypt.
▸China's arms makers: NORINCO and AVIC build the J-20 (AVIC), China's answer to US Stealth aircraft (F-117 Nighthawk)Well documented
The connection
AVIC's Chengdu Aircraft company developed the J-20, China's first stealth fighter, which first flew in January 2011 during a visit by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates. It entered service in 2017, making China the second country, after the US, to field a stealth fighter. AVIC's Shenyang unit followed with the J-35.
When and how
Chengdu, Sichuan, first flight January 11, 2011; in service from 2017; chief designer Yang Wei.
How we know
Public flight displays, Chinese official announcements and the US Defense Department's reports on China's military confirm the program.
Debates and open questions
US officials suspect stolen F-35 data helped; a Chinese businessman pleaded guilty in 2016 to a related hacking conspiracy. How stealthy the J-20 is remains unknown.