It dosen't cheat, although it does use some different-but-equal components in order to get around some hard-coded thinking patterns.
It will only cheat if you use the AI bonus setting in game startup. No bonus is totally fair. Low bonus is 2x, Medium 3x and High bonus is 5x to income and build rates.
In stock, High bonus is not unreasonable.
In CBmod, Low bonus is impossible to win
