After the founding of the People's Republic of China, China established a friendly alliance with the Soviet Union and received a large amount of military aid and technical support from the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union provided China with many advanced equipment, such as MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21 and other fighters, T-34, T-54, T-55 and other tanks, as well as various artillery, missiles, submarines, etc.
The Soviet Union also provided China with many first-class production tools and technical materials, and even with the assistance of Soviet experts, they helped China establish its own military industrial system. As a result, China was able to successfully copy and improve many of the Soviet ones, such as the Type 56 submachine gun, the Type 59 tank, the J-5, the J-6, the J-7, etc.
However, there was a serious rift in Sino-Soviet relations in the 1960s, and the two sides had fierce disputes over ideology, international status, border issues, etc., which led to the severance of diplomatic relations between China and the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union stopped military aid and technical support to China, and even threatened a nuclear strike against China. In this case, China has to accelerate the pace of independent research and development, and at the same time began to seek cooperation from other countries.
China began to engage with the United States in the 1970s, and the two sides established a certain strategic cooperative relationship under the common interests of opposing the Soviet Union. The United States has also provided China with some military information and technology, such as satellite reconnaissance, radar, electronic warfare, and so on.
China also took this opportunity to try to obtain some advanced technology from the United States, but the United States did not provide China with a large amount of equipment and technical information like the Soviet Union, nor did it send experts to help China produce and improve.
The United States has only provided China with some limited technical support in some non-core areas, and there are many restrictions and reservations. The purpose of the United States is not to really help China, but to use China as a pawn to contain the power of the Soviet Union, and at the same time to prevent China from becoming an adversary that threatens the United States.
Therefore, China has encountered many difficulties and obstacles in imitating the United States, and can only obtain some sporadic information and samples from the United States through some indirect means, such as purchasing from third countries, seizing from the battlefield, and obtaining from defectors or spies, and then reverse engineering and testing, but the results are not ideal.
In addition to the influence of political stance and technical exchanges, technical protection and encryption methods are also important factors affecting Chinese imitation**.
The Soviet Union and the United States are both the most advanced military powers in the world, and their first-class technologies have been developed and tested for many years, and are of high value and secrecy. In order to prevent technology from being leaked and imitated, they have adopted a variety of technical protection and encryption methods to protect their own advantages.
For example, the Soviet Union implemented a strict confidentiality system for its own technology, all research and development and production processes are carried out under a high degree of isolation and monitoring, technical data and samples have special institutions and personnel responsible for storage and transportation, and all personnel involved in the first technology must sign a confidentiality agreement and must not disclose any information, otherwise they will be severely punished.
Compared with the Soviet Union, the United States has stricter technological protection and encryption methods. For example, the first-class technology of the United States also uses complex system integration, such as aircraft carriers, fighter jets, missiles, satellites, etc.
These are not only a single piece of equipment, but a complex system, which requires multiple subsystems and modules to cooperate and coordinate with each other, and cannot be imitated and used without corresponding system design and integration capabilities.
In addition, the United States has strict policies and regulations on its own exports, not only restricting the type and quantity of **, but also restricting the use and transfer of **, if there is any violation of the regulations, the United States will take various measures, such as sanctions, boycotts, interference, etc., to prevent and punish and crack down.
In addition to the impact of technical exchange and technical protection, the technical threshold and industrial base are also important factors affecting China's imitation.
The Soviet Union and the United States have a high technical threshold for their advanced technology, and they need a strong industrial base and scientific research capabilities to reach and surpass. At different times, China has different gaps and contrasts with the Soviet Union and the United States in terms of technological thresholds and industrial bases.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has been faced with a serious problem, that is, China's industrial base and scientific research capabilities are very backward and cannot meet the needs of national defense and economy.
In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, China paid tremendous sacrifices and costs, and both the country and the nation suffered tremendous trauma and losses. Under such circumstances, China urgently needs to acquire advanced technology from foreign countries to improve its own national defense and security.
Fortunately, during this period, China received strong support and help from the Soviet Union, and obtained a large number of advanced technology and industrial technology from the Soviet Union, which made China's industry and science and technology have a leap forward.
In the 1950s, China began the development of its own atomic bomb and missile, although the Soviet Union stopped technical assistance to China after 1960, but China still successfully tested the first atomic bomb in 1964, the first missile in 1966, the first hydrogen bomb in 1967, and the first artificial satellite in 1970.
These achievements show China's industrial and scientific and technological progress and strength, as well as China's determination and confidence, making China one of the few countries in the world with nuclear and aerospace capabilities.
However, during this period, China also faced a serious problem, that is, the development of China's industry and science and technology was still based on imitation and improvement, lacking independent innovation and originality, and unable to keep up with the technological progress and changes of the Soviet Union and the United States.
When China imitates the Soviet Union's first technology, because it has a similar industrial base to the Soviet Union, China can quickly master the core technology when imitating, so as to carry out a large number of production.
For example, the Soviet MiG-21 fighter was designed with the simplification of production lines and the need for mass production, especially in countries like China, where it has low production costs, stable performance and a very high cost performance.
This design philosophy was in line with China's rapidly expanding industrial capacity at the time, making it one of the main combat aircraft of the Chinese Air Force. In addition, the design of the MIG-21 emphasizes more on stability and reliability than on the pursuit of advanced technology. This design idea is undoubtedly very important for a fledgling aviation industry.
However, when China imitates the first-class technology of the United States, it often can only obtain partial or incomplete information and samples of the United States, and cannot obtain complete or accurate information and samples of the United States, let alone crack the technical protection and encryption methods of the United States.
In particular, in the fields of aerospace, nuclear energy, electronics, and computer technology, the United States has been accumulating a leading position in the world for quite a long time. The U.S. has a very strong technological threshold and industrial base in these areas, so if China wants to imitate in these areas, the challenges are also very large.
In addition to the impact of technical thresholds and industrial base, technological independence and independent innovation are also an important factor affecting China's imitation.
After China's reform and opening up, it has made many achievements in technological independence and independent innovation, such as J-10, J-11, J-15, J-16, J-20, J-31 and other third-generation and first-class fighters, as well as launch vehicles, nuclear submarines, etc.
China's industry and science and technology have shifted from imitation and improvement to independence and innovation, from following and imitation, to leading and surpassing, from dependence and restraint to independence and self-improvement, achieving a qualitative leap and breakthrough, and China's first-class technology has also achieved a quantitative growth and upgrading.
At the same time, in order to achieve the goal of scientific and technological progress and national defense modernization, China actively encourages and promotes scientific and technological research and development, personnel training and application, vigorously invests in military scientific research institutions and higher education institutions, and promotes the rapid development of the military industry.
At a higher strategic level, China has clearly proposed in the 13th Five-Year Plan to strengthen the independent innovation capability of military technology, and has also made substantial progress in many fields, which cannot be ignored.
With the rapid development of the economy, the pace of military modernization is also getting faster and faster, especially in the field of science and technology, innovation has become one of the key factors in modern warfare.
These achievements show China's ability and level of technological independence and independent innovation, as well as the improvement and rise of China's military strength and international status, making China one of the few countries in the world with a comprehensive and advanced system.
China's ability to imitate the Soviet Union, but not the United States, is a problem with multiple factors, including technical exchanges and political positions, technological protection and encryption methods, technical thresholds and industrial bases, technological independence and independent innovation.
This issue not only reflects the history and current situation of China's military development, but also reflects the progress and challenges of China's industry and science and technology, and also reflects the struggles and dreams of China's state and nation.
In the process of imitating the United States, China has learned Xi the technology and experience of the Soviet Union and the United States, and also demonstrated its own creation and innovation, these independent innovation efforts not only allow China to gradually reduce its dependence on external technology in the field of military industry, but also make China have the ability to confront a technological power like the United States, and at the same time make China's military strength have been significantly improved.