China Showcases Weapons at Military Parade—New Tech or Just Knockoffs?

China Showcases Weapons at Military Parade—New Tech or Just Knockoffs?
A CS-5000T drone is seen during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sept 3, 2025. Pedro Padro/AFP via Getty Images
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Commentary

Beijing on Sept. 3 rolled out tanks, missiles, and warplanes in a grandiose military parade at Tiananmen Square, touting its display of “new” weaponry. But a closer look reveals that most of these so-called breakthroughs of China’s People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) weaponry were either repackaged versions of older systems or crude knockoffs of Russian and American designs.

Shen Zhou
Shen Zhou
Author
Shen Zhou, a former design engineer for military vehicles, is a China observer who has paid close attention to the Chinese regime’s military expansion over the years. He started contributing to The Epoch Times in 2020.