China agency targets high-tech weapons development

China has launched a military agency to develop state of the art weapons, the latest step in the country’s ambitions to transform its army into a modern fighting force.

The Scientific Research Steering Committee was set up earlier this year but its existence was only reported this week, in a documentary aired by state broadcaster CCTV. It appears to be modelled on the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, the US body set up in 1957 to identify and nurture technology with national security applications…

China’s economic explosion in recent decades has been accompanied by a rapid rise in military spending, which is expected to hit $150bn this year and more than $220bn by 2020, according to defence consultancy IHS Jane’s…

The committee is the latest in a series of reforms overseen by President Xi since 2015 to make the PLA a leaner and more flexible fighting force, including a significant reshuffle of the PLA’s organisational structure to prioritise developing capabilities in information and electronic warfare.