China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (an abbreviation of "North Industries Corporation"), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (Chinese: 中国兵器工业集团有限公司), is a Chinese state-owned defense corporation that manufactures commercial and military products. Norinco Group is one of the world's largest defense contractors.

The company's subsidiary, China North Industries Corporation (Chinese: 中国北方工业有限公司), or simply Norinco, markets Norinco Group's products internationally, and is also involved in domestic civil construction and military defense projects.

Some of Norinco's international customers include Iran, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it negotiated arms-for-minerals deals, as well as Venezuela.

01History

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. Norinco is a major supplier of nitrocellulose, a key ingredient in gunpowder, for the Russian military.

Gaza war

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

Sudanese civil war (2023-present)

Norinco manufactured bombs have been used by the Rapid Support Forces in the Sudanese civil war.

Watch videos about NorincoExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Norinco”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Norinco headquarters at 46 Sanlihe Rd (20200921163658).jpg by N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0

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