May 2, 2017                                                                   Issue No. 15
In This Issue
Shipbuilding & PLA Navy
Comments and suggestions on our content can be sent to Eric Anderson, Research Analyst, at  eanderson@ucsd.edu. 
 
 
SITC News Team
UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
GENERAL DEFENSE INDUSTRY ISSUES general
China's Xi Restructures Military, Consolidates Control | Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced a military restructure of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to transform it into a leaner fighting force with improved joint operations capability, state media said. Centered around a new, condensed structure of 84 military units, the reshuffle builds on Xi's years-long efforts to modernize the PLA with greater emphasis on new capabilities including cyberspace, electronic and information warfare.

SPACE AND MISSILE INDUSTRIES AND PLA STRATEGIC ROCKET FORCE SpaceMissile
China and Europe to Build a Base on the Moon and Launch Other Projects into Space | Independent
China and Europe are looking to build a human outpost on the moon. Representatives of the Chinese and European space agencies have discussed collaborating on a moonbase and other possible joint endeavors, according to spokespeople and media reports. The work was first revealed by Tian Yulong, the secretary general of China's space agency, who told Chinese state media about the talks. Pal Hvistendahl, a spokesperson for the European Space Agency, confirmed the discussions.
 
Tianzhou 1 Freighter Achieves China's First In-Space Refueling Demo | Spaceflight Now
The robotic Tianzhou 1 refueling freighter launched last week has successfully completed the first in-orbit propellant transfer with China's Tiangong 2 space lab, a major accomplishment as the country's engineers hope to finish assembly of a large space station by 2022, officials said Thursday. The refueling demonstration validates key technologies China will need to assemble and maintain the nation's planned 60-metric ton (130,000-pound) space station. The core component of the orbital complex, named Tianhe 1, could launch as soon as next year, followed by two more research modules by 2022.
 
Meet the Women Behind China's Rocketing Space Industry | Women of China
China's aerospace industry has achieved rapid development over the past 20 years, most recently with the Tianzhou-1, the nation's 1st Cargo Spacecraft, blasting off into orbit. To help realize China's space exploration dreams, many female pilots and researchers have dedicated their youth and efforts to missions during this time.

AVIATION INDUSTRY AND PLA AIR FORCE aviation
China's J-31 Stealth Fighter Gets an Improved Prototype-and a Potential Future on a Carrier | Popular Science
The improved J-31 stealth fighter prototype has been ramping up its test flights in April 2017, adding fuel to speculation that it will become the stealth fighter for Chinese aircraft carriers.
 
CAAA Promotes Use of UAV in Future Battles | China.org.cn
The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA), a subsidiary of the NASA-like China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, put forward the concept of future UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) warfare on April 24, the second national Space Day.

SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY AND PLA NAVY ShipbuildingIndustry
China Launches First Home-Built Aircraft Carrier, Boosting Naval Power | Wall Street Journal
China launched its second aircraft carrier-and the first one entirely home-built-taking another stride in its quest for a world-class navy that can protect Chinese economic and security interests far from its shores. The new carrier, festooned in red flags and ribbons and with a bottle of champagne smashed over its bow, slid from a dry dock into the water in a shipyard ceremony in the northeastern port city of Dalian on Wednesday, state media reported. About two years of sea trials are expected before the still-unnamed ship becomes fully operational, Chinese and Western military experts say.
 
China Launches Its First Locally Built Aircraft Carrier | DefenseNews
China has launched its second - but its first locally built - aircraft carrier, just days after being floated off its dry dock, even as the country continues development work on other aspects of its carrier program.
 
China Shipbuilding Signs Deal With Bank to Support Expansion | IHS Jane's
The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) has signed an agreement with the China Construction Bank (CCB) to support the shipyard's efforts to restructure and expand. China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) said on 27 April that the "co-operation framework agreement" would provide CSIC with a range of benefits. These include optimising CSIC's financing structure, reducing its financial costs, controlling its asset-liability ratio, accelerating mergers and acquisitions, supporting exports, controlling exchange rate fluctuations, and also helping the shipbuilder cope with financial risk. The value of the financial agreement was not revealed but similar arrangements between state-owned defence corporations and banks usually reach the equivalent of at least several hundred million US dollars.
 
China Shows Decommissioned Nuclear Submarine on Naval Anniversary |
UPI
China put its first nuclear-powered submarine on display, a decommissioned warship built in 1970, to mark the 68th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy. The Type 091 Han Class Changzheng-1 submarine was unveiled to the general public at the Qingdao Naval Museum in Shandong Province, Hong Kong's Phoenix Television reported.
 
Chinese Naval Shipbuilding: Measuring the Waves | The Diplomat
After a six-century hiatus, sea power development may once again find its center of gravity in the Asia-Pacific. While the Trump Administration plans a naval buildup, China is already well into a buildup of its own. A new book from Naval Institute Press explains why Beijing is making such waves, how big they are, and how great they might become. To learn more, The Diplomat's Editor-in-Chief Shannon Tiezzi interviewed Naval War College professor Andrew S. Erickson, the editor of Chinese Naval Shipbuilding.

ARMS TRADE arms
Chinese Aerospace Companies Seek To Explore LatAm Market | CCTV
Chinese aerospace companies have been increasing their participation in the global market and their next destination is Latin America. During the ongoing Mexico Aerospace Fair held at the Santa Lucia Air Base close to the Mexican capital, Chinese companies participated in the event for the first time with their advanced technologies and equipment.
 
Did Thailand Secretly Approve Its China Submarine Buy? | The Diplomat
Over the past week, Thailand's decades-long aspiration to acquire submarines has been caught in yet another round of controversy. The country's junta-led government has had to fend off allegations that it deliberately approved a deal to purchase a submarine from China at a cabinet meeting without officially announcing it to conceal details from the public. In a surprise move back in June 2015, the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) elected to buy three submarines from China in what would be one of the most expensive single acquisitions in the country's history. Since then, although the debate about the wider strategic significance of the billion-dollar deal has continued, the proposed purchase itself has been repeatedly delayed.