Last week, the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army dominated coverage on state-controlled media. It was celebrated in the traditional fashion with parades and displays of the latest — and increasingly Chinese sourced — armaments.

What was reflected amid the fanfare was how China is modernising its armed forces with the help of research institutes and private companies, taking its template from the US and Israel at a time when technology increasingly has both military and civilian applications. The technological prowess and unrivalled human capital of China’s privately owned companies combined with government determination and ample funding means that mainland ambitions to build a cutting edge military capability are not just another empty patriotic China dream.

China is not alone in these efforts. Indeed, the whole of the Asian region is increasing spending on armaments in similar fashion. In seeking to modernise military forces, other states are also moving away from traditional contractors to private tech companies.