Norinco

History

Established in 1980 with the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Norinco is an enterprise group engaged in both products and capital operation, integrated with research and development, manufacturing, marketing and services. Norinco mainly deals with defense products, petroleum and mineral resources development, international engineering contracting, optronic products, civilian explosives and chemical products, sporting arms and equipment, vehicles and logistics operation.

U.S. sanctions

In 1993, the import of most Norinco firearms and ammunition into the United States was blocked under new trade rules when China's permanent normal trade relations status was renewed. The prohibition did not apply to sporting shotguns or shotgun ammunition, however. In 1994, U.S. Customs agents conducted a sting operation named Operation Dragon Fire against Atlanta-based importers of Norinco firearms as well as Poly Technologies. Seven officials were arrested after agreeing to smuggle 2,000 fully automatic Chinese-made variants of AK-47s to undercover agents the officials believed may have been connected to the American Mafia. At least one official, Hammond Ku, attempted to sell Chinese-produced tanks and rocket launchers to the undercover agents.

In August 2003, the Bush administration imposed sanctions on Norinco for allegedly selling missile-related goods to Iran. These sanctions led to a prohibition on imports into the US of the remaining types of firearms and ammunition not covered by the 1993 ban.

In November 2020, Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any American company or individual from owning shares in companies that the United States Department of Defense has listed as having links to the People's Liberation Army, which included Norinco Group. In June 2021, Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14032 expanding the scope of the national emergency declared in order 13959.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

In March 2023, Politico reported that Norinco shipped assault rifles, drone parts, and body armor to Russia between June and December 2022.

Gaza war

Media reports indicate that Hamas has thousands of Norinco-made assault rifles used in the war.

References

References

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