China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation
After Sino-Soviet split, China realized its navy, PLAN, was no match for the Soviet navy, and in the event of Soviet invasion, PLAN has to withdraw to coastal waters and even inland waterways to fight a guerrilla warfare against the much stronger opponent, so smaller submarines such as mini or midget subs are much more suited for fighting the underwater guerrilla war. In addition, smaller subs were also able to be mass-produced. In 1964, the deputy commander-in-chief of PLAN, Vice admiral Zhao Qi-Min (赵启民) formally issued the order to develop a mini/midget submarine, and the 701st Research Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) was tasked to issue the requirement, which eventually named as Type 030 in 1965 when the winning design was selected from several proposals.