【英语中国】战斗机成中国武器出口关键

Ongoing competition between Boeing Co. (BA) and Airbus may have lent the most excitement to this year's Farnborough International Air Show in England, but China's expanding air force has also left its mark.

China's latest fighter jet, the Joint Fighter-17, which is co-produced with Pakistan, was featured at the show. China's air force is already among the world's largest, but its technology often lags behind more developed nations, and remains heavily reliant on Russia for furnishing aircraft parts, particularly jet engines (the U.S. government bars its contractors from selling weapons to China).

Reliance on Russia is one of the biggest factors inhibiting China's air force, said Gary Li, a People's Liberation Army analyst at the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies, according to China Daily.

'How many aircraft can China produce a year if Russia stops selling its engines to Beijing?' Li said.

Nonetheless, the JF-17 highlights a key aspect of China's weapons export plan: Develop moderately priced aircraft to sell to countries too poor--or too politically isolated--to buy U.S. technology. Aircraft sales are the most lucrative part of Beijing's weapons exports, totaling $815 million, China Daily reported.

The JF-17 sells for around $15 million, and aviation websites have quoted sources saying China is interested in selling to Sri Lanka, Sudan and Venezuela, among others.

The Associated Press of Pakistan reported that the new jet will in part replace Pakistan's fleet of Chinese-produced F-7 aircraft. Others have also speculated the JF-17 could replace the aging F-16 in the long-term. That jet, produced by the U.S. firm Lockheed Martin, has been a mainstay in Pakistan's military alongside Chinese-produced aircraft.

Li said China's exports are attractive for underpowered military forces since the country offers technological expertise on top of equipment. 'The U.S. never sells its latest generation of aircraft,' nor its critical technologies, Li said to China Daily.

In China's case, weapons exports have been part of spreading its sphere of influence. Pakistan, for example, has long been supplied Chinese military equipment in relationship-building over a shared distrust for India.

波音(Boeing Co.)和空客(Airbus)之间一如既往的较量，或许是今年英国法茵堡国际航空展(Farnborough International Air Show)上最激动人心的看点。但中国不断扩充的空军也不可忽视。

Bloomberg News一位游客与参加法兰克福航空展的JF-17战斗机合影中国同巴基斯坦联合生产的最新款战斗机JF-17（JF意为“联合战斗机”）在这次展会上展出。中国空军的规模已属世界前列，但它的技术常常落后于更发达的国家，并且仍旧严重依靠俄罗斯提供飞机零部件，特别是发动机（美国政府禁止承包商向中国出售武器）。

《中国日报》(China Daily)报道，伦敦国际战略研究所(International Institute of Strategic Studies)研究解放军的分析师Gary Li说，对俄罗斯的依赖是中国空军面临的最大制约因素之一。

他说，要是俄罗斯不再向北京出售发动机，中国一年能够生产多少架飞机？

但JF-17仍然突出了中国武器出口计划中的一个重要方面，也就是开发出价格不高的飞机，出售给因为过于贫穷或政治上过于孤立而无法购买美国技术的国家。《中国日报》报道，飞机是北京武器出口当中最赚钱的一部分，销售总额达8.15亿美元。

JF-17售价约为1,500万美元，有航空类网站曾援引消息人士的话说，中国有意向斯里兰卡、苏丹和委内瑞拉等国出售这种飞机。

巴基斯坦联合通讯社(Associated Press of Pakistan)报道说，新款战机将部分地取代巴基斯坦的中国产F-7战机。还有其他媒体猜测，从长远来看，JF-17有可能取代日益老化的F-16。F-16为美国公司洛克希德-马丁公司(Lockheed Martin)生产，和中国产飞机一样，一直是巴基斯坦军方的主力战机。

Gary Li说，中国的出口对实力不强的军队是有吸引力的，因为中国不仅提供装备，还提供技术。Gary Li对《中国日报》说，美国从来不出售它的最新一代飞机，也不出售它的关键技术。

对中国来说，武器出口成了扩大势力范围的一个工具。例如中国长期以来向巴基斯坦供应军事设备，双方因都对印度不信任而建立起关系。