Type 03 / QBZ-03

The QBZ-03, also designated Type 03, is a Chinese gas-operated selective-fire assault rifle chambered for the 5.8×42mm DBP87 cartridge. Its design was finalized in December 2003, and it appears to be a continuation of the earlier Type 87. Development was initiated following reports raising concerns over the QBZ-95 bullpup rifle then entering general service. Unlike the QBZ-95, the QBZ-03 uses a conventional layout, intended for police officers and soldiers already trained on previously issued Chinese assault rifles. Public information on the weapon was first reported in the November 2004 issue of the magazine Weapon Knowledge.

The operating system follows that of the Type 81 assault rifle, using a short-stroke gas piston with a rotating bolt. The gas block incorporates a two-position regulator. Sighting equipment consists of a hooded front sight and a flip-up rear diopter sight. The rifle is fitted with a folding stock. Its cyclic rate is higher than that of the QBZ-95. In 2015, the manufacturer displayed a configuration with a quad-rail handguard, whose short rear section screws onto the upper receiver.

In Chinese service, the QBZ-03 is used by the People's Liberation Army, including border defence units of the Ground Force, the Rocket Force and the Marine Corps, as well as by the People's Armed Police. Outside state forces, the rifle has been observed with the United Wa State Army. Two export variants chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO have been produced: the T03, and the semi-automatic EM3513, introduced in 2005 by China Jing-She An Import-Export and the Jiang-She Group, which feeds from STANAG magazines and includes an integrated three-round burst mode. In February 2011, photographs appeared of the QTS-11, combining the Type 03 with a 20 mm airburst grenade launcher, making China the third country to field an airburst infantry weapon after the United States and South Korea.