![J-20 stealth fighter jets of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force perform during the 12th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, Nov. 11, 2018 (Imaginechina photo via AP Images).](https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/l_china-defense-12072018-1.jpg?w=519&h=259&crop=1)
In early November, at its flagship biennial airshow in the southern city of Zhuhai, China displayed the latest accomplishments of its aerospace and defense industries. This year’s exhibition provides further evidence of China’s emergence as a major defense industrial power, one capable of equipping the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and foreign militaries with world-class military equipment. In the context of intensifying great-power competition between the United States and China, the rapidly increasing capacities of China’s defense industry are likely to play an important role in helping Beijing realize its goal of turning the PLA into a top-tier military and cementing […]