Chinese army faces problems in weapons innovation, relying on foreign acquisitions, US study finds

China's military has overcome numerous technological challenges to chip away at the United States' supremacy in recent years, but continues to be stymied by lagging domestic innovation and corruption in its defence industry, according to a US government-financed study released on Wednesday. The report by the Rand Corporation identified China as the "clear pacing threat" to the US in terms of investment in military capabilities but found that much of its progress was the result of intellectual property theft, foreign acquisitions and joint ventures. The Rand Corporation is a security-focused research group based in California that receives around 80 per…