China's Defense Industry Shows Signs of RecoveryChina's defense industry is still running in the red, but its efficiency has improved, government officials announced in Beijing Saturday.According to the announcement, the China Weaponry Equipment Group, which has 57 subsidiary companies, saw its output value reach 10.7 billion yuan (about US$1.2 billion) in the first half of this year, an increase of 4.36 percent over the same period of 1999. Another conglomerate, the China Weaponry Industry Group, which has 83 subsidiary companies, generated 6.67 billion yuan in output value in the same period. The two groups have reduced their economic losses by 23.9 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively, compared with last year, according to government figures. Both of them have changed their focus to producing civilian products, including cars and motorcycles, instead of solely armaments, since the beginning of the 1990s. |
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