China Reports $7 Billion in Military Exports

China provided a rare glimpse into its secretive military industrial complex, announcing in a published report that its military factories exported $7 billion worth of goods last year. The report, in the China Daily newspaper, also noted that about 1,200 Chinese military firms have absorbed $4.5 billion in foreign investment from Western companies, such as Boeing and Mercedes-Benz, since China opened to the outside world the late 1970s. Most of their production is now geared for the civilian market. The report came a day before China’s army was scheduled to host a visit of Defense Secretary William S. Cohen to a secret, underground air defense command and control center outside Beijing.