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Pfft... why is it that everybody assumes the Chinese type 81 and 96 assault rifles are AK clones? They are not.
The Chinese first home produced rifles which were issued en mass to their army were the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, ie SKS, and the Type 56 sub-machinegun, ie the AK47.
Then there was the Type 63, which had the body form of the SKS, shot from 20 round detachable magazines, the bolt group of the AK47, and a new gs system, it was infamous for its por build quality.
Then came the Type 81, in 7.62x39mm still, and looking a bit like an AK, but it is nt the same. It is Chinese designed based of the SKS and AK, in the same way as the FNC uses some ideas from the AK...
Then there was the Type 87, which used the new 5.8x42mm round... and now there is the Type 95/96. The Chinese have plenty of experience in small arms to design their own weapons, they do not need to copy others any more.