Golly gee whiz, has it really been ten years? I remember being in a sporting goods store the day before the assault weapon ban went into effect. Chinese semi-AK-47's were flying out the door for $600 each, more than triple the cost a few weeks earlier. People buying high-capacity magazines by the pallet load. Oh by the way, anybody need any magazines? I seem to have a few extra...

That also marked one of the transitional moments for Chinese manufacturing. Up to that point they had mostly been selling us artillery - the only thing they really knew how to make. When that market dried up, they had to switch to other things.