An article about the growing gun culture in the PRC:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122394012224530655.html
China is not a communist country anymore, they are a capitalist nation but retain the communist authoritorian power structure.
I remember reading an old article in a surplus gun magazine about Chinese 9mm Toks imported in the late 80s-early '90s that claimed the barrels only had a life of 2,000 rounds.