Interesting, China Daily is a government publication so it's reading between the lines for information either missing or slanted. The 40 million estimated guns in China (ISS, Geneva) among a population of over 1 billion is a small percentage and I'd be surprised if it didn't include a high percentage of old firearms as far back as the Long March. Make a few guns and make some money, poor peasants have probably been doing that for decades. The pistols are likely Tokarev and Makarov clones since the PRC and USSR were close for many years. Ironic, "Meanwhile, in rural Biancheng, China Daily reporters discovered it is still easy to buy 7.62 mm caliber seamless steel barrels, an essential part of a wide range of revolvers, pistols and rifles. He Li, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Security's firearms division, previously said the barrels of illegal firearms were usually purchased, rather than homemade. However, although the barrels have no civilian usage, their manufacture and sale are not covered by the law, he said."

highdesert wrote:Interesting, China Daily is a government publication so it's reading between the lines for information either missing or slanted. The 40 million estimated guns in China (ISS, Geneva) among a population of over 1 billion is a small percentage and I'd be surprised if it didn't include a high percentage of old firearms as far back as the Long March. Make a few guns and make some money, poor peasants have probably been doing that for decades. The pistols are likely Tokarev and Makarov clones since the PRC and USSR were close for many years. Ironic, "Meanwhile, in rural Biancheng, China Daily reporters discovered it is still easy to buy 7.62 mm caliber seamless steel barrels, an essential part of a wide range of revolvers, pistols and rifles. He Li, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Security's firearms division, previously said the barrels of illegal firearms were usually purchased, rather than homemade. However, although the barrels have no civilian usage, their manufacture and sale are not covered by the law, he said."

I read a while back that non-firing replica guns are widely available in China and are popular among certain thugs and criminal elements as instruments for intimidation and robbery. I wonder if in rural areas there are secret owners of old firearms that date as far back as WWII and then the fight with the Nationalists.

It might be difficult for civilians to access any kind of ammunition to go with a homemade pistol purchased on the black market.

TxChinaman wrote:I read a while back that non-firing replica guns are widely available in China and are popular among certain thugs and criminal elements as instruments for intimidation and robbery. I wonder if in rural areas there are secret owners of old firearms that date as far back as WWII and then the fight with the Nationalists.

It might be difficult for civilians to access any kind of ammunition to go with a homemade pistol purchased on the black market.

Just speculation, but considering China's history of war lords and foreign occupation there are probably generations of gun makers throughout the country. Though Norinco is a state enterprise the firearms they produce look quite good even a copy of the Colt Woodsman. I think US gun makers fear the eventual competition with even better quality Chinese firearms. And in the land where gunpowder was discovered, they probably even make ammo at a very hefty price.