MG 42 and StG 44 in China?

[YC Chen]

Well, maybe you guys don't really understand my opinion. My opinion is: China didn't produce any MG 34, but some were used by Chinese army before 1949.
Although some Chinese sources state that PLA asked Soviet Union for some captured German weapons in 1946, but I don't think PLA got any during the Civil War. There are some late-WWII German weapons in Chinese museums, and I believe the saying that they were purchased from Soviet in 1950s for training purpose.
Maybe these MG34s showing in document photos and being used by PLA are from Europe or North Africa(KMT bought some weapons from Europe after WWII, like the M-10 tank destroyers, etc), I don't know.

[Dave Bender]

I find that difficult to believe since the MG34 was one of the best machineguns in the world right up into the 1960s. If the PLA acquired MG34s in quantity they would almost certainly be used in places like Korea.

[YC Chen]

I find that difficult to believe since the MG 34 was one of the best machineguns in the world right up into the 1960s. If the PLA acquired MG 34s in quantity they would almost certainly be used in places like Korea.

I don't mean MG 34s, I mean some earlier weapons, like PAK 38 5cm AT guns, 7.5cm infantry guns, etc. which can be found in some Chinese museums. I think PLA didn't have these until 1950s. However, I believe PLA captured a number of MG34s from KMT and then put them back into service, as showed by the Shanghai 1949 photo.
I don't know if PLA used any MG 34s in Korea-maybe there were some.

[HC8604]

I still don't think the KMT had the MG 34 to begin with.

I am skeptical on the date of the picture from the book. But as Dave said, there would have been reports of them being used in Korea or maybe they did not want to use it because it was a prized weapon??