The AK is in the same class as the AR--light infantry carbine. Now picture yourself in a mall. "Active shooter" enters. Which weapon would you fear more in his hands--a Garand 30.06 or an AR15 jungle clipped? And who said anything about the AR15 being used by criminals, foreign militias, or governments? Of course they buy full auto AR16s, widely available from the wrong people. As to the Chinese, they use their own well made version of the Kalashnikov, the SK. When there's a need, by contract or otherwise, for quality, the Chinese rise to the occasion. Most American businesses buying from China choose not to pay for quality, and we blame the Chinese for shoddy practice by our own. So it goes.