As part and parcel of the China Dream of global renaissance, in addition to creating a middle-kingdom of cyberspace, China is starting to enlist private sector start-ups in the development and provision of weaponry from robot gunboats to anti-drone systems, according to a report of 9 July in the Financial Times. 

The new strategy has been pioneered by President Xi Jinping. This year he has created a Military-Civil Integration Development Commission with himself as head. 

“This is what everyone is doing now, especially the US. That is why we must do this as well,” says a representative of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation ,according to the FT report. However, it's not just keeping up with the Joneses. Apart from greater efficiency, there are many spin-offs for the broader economy, including revolutionary inventions such as the internet, if America's military-industrial complex is a guide. 

Separately, China is launching an "unhackable" quantum computing network for the first 200 users in the government, military, finance and electricity sectors, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.  The quantum network uses particles of light to encrypt information. If a third party tries to intercept the information, the particles change characteristics, making it impossible to steal the information.