This is the first time China has admitted that its personnel gave on-ground technical support to their Pakistani allies.
China has confirmed for the first time that it provided on-site technical support to Pakistan during last year’s war with India, known in New Delhi as Operation Sindoor, the South China Morning Post reported.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 last year, which claimed 26 lives. India responded with Operation Sindoor, targeting nine terror-related sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian response resulted in the deaths of over 100 terrorists associated with groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
According to the SCMP report, in an interview aired on Thursday by China’s state broadcaster CCTV, engineers from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) described their direct involvement in supporting Pakistani operations. The admission marks the first official acknowledgement from Beijing of Chinese personnel playing a role in the India-Pakistan clash.
Zhang Heng, an engineer from AVIC’s Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, was one of those who provided technical support to Pakistan during the conflict, the report stated. The institute is a key developer of China’s advanced fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
“At the support base, we frequently heard the roar of fighter jets taking off and the constant wail of air-raid sirens. By late morning, in May, the temperature was already approaching 50 degrees Celsius [122 degrees Fahrenheit]. It was a real ordeal for us, both mentally and physically,” Zhang Heng was quoted as saying by the SCMP.
This is the first time China has admitted that its personnel gave on-ground technical support to their Pakistani allies.
Pakistan’s air force operates Chinese-made J-10CE jets, produced by an AVIC subsidiary. Zhang Heng said what drove his team was the “desire to do an even better job with on‑site support” and to ensure their equipment could “truly perform at its full combat potential”.
“That wasn’t just a recognition of the J‑10CE; it was also a testament to the deep bond we formed through working side by side, day in and day out,” Zhang Heng added.
Another employee from the same institute, Xu Da, compared the fighter jet to a “child.”
“We nurtured it, cared for it, and finally handed it over to the user. And now, it was facing a major test. As for the outstanding results the J-10CE achieved, we weren’t very surprised, and it didn’t feel sudden at all,” Xu Da was quoted as saying by the SCMP. “In fact, it felt inevitable. The aircraft just needed the right opportunity. And when that moment came, it delivered exactly as we knew it would.”
The J-10CE, an export variant of the J-10C 4.5-generation fighter, is widely considered the most advanced model in the J-10 series. Pakistan is the only known operator of J-10Cs outside China, with Islamabad ordering 36 of the fighters along with 250 PL-15 missiles in 2020.
In July 2025, the Indian Army said that an overwhelming 81 per cent of Pakistan’s military hardware is of Chinese origin, with China using the country like a “live lab” to test its military tech.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China has sold arms worth $8.2 billion to Pakistan since 2015. Between 2020 and 2024, China ranked as the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter. Nearly two-thirds or 63 per cent of these exports went to Pakistan, making Islamabad China’s biggest weapons client.
Army’s Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance), Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh, back in July 2025, provided a breakdown of the recent cross-border escalation with Pakistan.
“There are a few lessons from Operation Sindoor. The strategic messaging by leadership was unambiguous. There is no scope of absorbing the pain the way we did a few years ago. The planning and selection of targets was based on a lot of data that was collected using technology and human intelligence. So a total of 21 targets were actually identified, out of which nine targets we thought would be prudent to engage. It was only the final day or the final hour that the decision was taken that these nine targets would be engaged,” Lt Gen Singh had said.
According to Lt Gen Singh, the China-Pakistan defence relationship had evolved beyond conventional arms transfers amid concerns that China is treating its close ties with Pakistan as an opportunity for experimentation, including the deployment of advanced platforms and surveillance systems in real-world conflict scenarios.
“We had one border and two adversaries, actually three. Pakistan was in the front. China was providing all possible support. 81 per cent of the military hardware with Pakistan is Chinese. China is able to test its weapons against other weapons, so it’s like a live lab available to them. Turkey also played an important role in providing the type of support it did. When DGMO-level talks were on, Pakistan had the live updates of our important vectors, from China. We need a robust air defence system,” he said.
