It had to happen sooner or later...

[Webstral]

And it's not just their naval shipyards, it seems to be endemic to their whole fabrication industry. Two examples, one from personal experience and one from a friend who worked in mine site construction...

All the steel beams had to be shipped about 1500km (approx 930 miles) to Perth to be fixed for a not insubstantial cost - the rumour being that the whole exercise cost as much as if they'd just bought the beams from an Australian company.

Wait a minute. Are you saying that the cheapest option isn't always the cheapest option I hope someone tells the self-congratulatory crew in charge of the new [San Francisco] Bay Bridge before they install cheap Chinese steel in the bridge...

[.45cultist]

But it aids the war effort! No sabotage needed.

[stormlion1]

Like I always say. You get what you pay for. You pay for Steel from China, you get a inferior product and if you buy a Ford you would have been better off with a Toyota.

[pmulcahy11b]

Slightly OT, there was a Chinese movie about the '73 war with Vietnam that had a scene where the ChiCom forces plagued with old and faulty ammo find brand new stuff in overrun Viet positions. It was based on true accounts and made in the 1990's.

Name Or something we can google off of

[.45cultist]

Ugh! It was a show about the then leader's favorite movie makers and how this semi-documentary on the 70's Sino- Viet war made their government bring back rank and other reforms. Now I have to track it down! It mentioned their leader, Mr. Deng had a Hong Kong filmmaking couple become "guests", and it was their movie. Still searching.....

[.45cultist]

The source I read was dead tree and I must report my failure to find it online. Only broad references including 500 soldiers killed by their own weapons malfunctioning. It's a shame because the article went into detail on the VN female snipers wreaking havoc on the ChiCom armor and infantry. Making lemons into lemonaid, I'm thinking of a scenario with a Moison Nagant, and a couple of other ideas for the Chinese.