1980s China, in a word, was a wasteland. Especially compared to the China we have today.
While it's true that huge parts of the country were basically medieval backwaters (there are still parts like that today, even) even in 1982, China was already manufacturing huge quantities of goods for for foreign companies and economies.
To think that they (China) would even want to build an aircraft carrier was like saying that Nigeria would want to build an aircraft carrier today.
The biggest difference, really, is that Nigeria isn't a communist country with a government that openly talks about how much they can't wait to crush you.
Why wouldn’t you scrap it yourself? It’s sensitive military technology. Even if you thought China was a backwater that would never use it, they could easily sell it to someone who would.
While it's true that huge parts of the country were basically medieval backwaters (there are still parts like that today, even) even in 1982, China was already manufacturing huge quantities of goods for for foreign companies and economies.
The biggest difference, really, is that Nigeria isn't a communist country with a government that openly talks about how much they can't wait to crush you.
=P Yeah, but knowing china, they'll be mostly cheap plastic knockoffs full of lead and toxic waste.
Why wouldn’t you scrap it yourself? It’s sensitive military technology. Even if you thought China was a backwater that would never use it, they could easily sell it to someone who would.
That is true. You’re getting downvotes from people who never lived in the 80s and were likely not born then either. Historical context is important.