When the so-called fifth-generation Chengdu ,J-20 fighter aircraft soared into the skies in January the world realised that China's defence development had progressed much faster than previously thought. The flight called into question whether the EU and US military trade restrictions, imposed separately in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square protests, had lost a degree of potency and relevance as it was clear that China was making significant strides towards indigenous high-technology development, irrespective of the embargoes.
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