My T-97 says 5.56 and its from china
Pricing could be better given the current AR market. The strength of Norcs has always been value... I'd say this is worth 500 these days.
No no it's scratched up bad, though they probable do use cooking grease to save money
Norinco 1911s and M305s are about value. This is less of a value.
I have one with over 2500 rounds, and not a single hiccup, other than bad ammo. Had a couple Remington 'Freedom Bucket" rounds with badly seated primers. Luckily they were so badly seated the rounds didn't become squibs. On the other hand, that price for a CQA is high. But there are folks who will buy them out of loyalty to the country of manufacture.