A year after Operation Sindoor, China admits helping Pakistan's air force during confrontation with India: Report

For the first time, China has confirmed that it assisted Pakistan by providing on-site technical support during its war with India last year, the South China Morning Post reported Friday.

According to the report, during the conflict, a Chinese-made fighter shot down at least one of India’s French-made fighter jets.

In an interview with China's state broadcaster CCTV, Zhang Heng, an engineer from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s (AVIC) Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, a key developer of China’s advanced fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle design, said that he had provided technical support to Pakistan during the four-day war last May.

What did the Chinese engineers reveal?

Zhang said: “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.”

He added that 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."

Zhang went on to say that this wasn't just a recognition of the J-10CE, but was also a testament to the deep bond we formed through working side by side.

Another employee from the Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, Xu Da, who also provided on-site support to Islamabad, compared the fighter jet to a "child" and added, "We nurtured it, cared for it, and finally handed it over to the user. And now, it was facing a major test."

China downplayed allegations of supporting Pakistan

So far, Chinese foreign ministry and military officials have either rejected or played down allegations of China's support for Pakistan during the conflict.

Beijing provided active support to Pakistan: Deputy Chief of Army Staff

There was no official reaction to India's Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt General Rahul R Singh's assertion that Beijing provided active military support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, using the conflict as a "live lab", news agency PTI reported.

At a seminar on "New Age Military Technologies" organised by industry chamber FICCI in July last year, Lt Gen Singh said China may have used its satellites to monitor Indian military deployments, with Pakistan receiving real-time inputs during DGMO (Director General of Military Operations)-level talks.

The Deputy Chief of Army Staff compared China's role during Operation Sindoor to the ancient Chinese military strategy of the "36 stratagems," particularly the idea of "killing with a borrowed knife," suggesting Beijing backed Pakistan to inflict strategic pressure on India.

He said at the time, “There are a few lessons from Operation Sindoor. The strategic messaging by leadership was unambiguous. There is no scope for 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.”

Beijing officials and social media played up Islamabad's claims of shooting down Indian fighter planes to showcase Chinese tech superiority, even though there was no evidence to support Pakistan's assertion.

India-Pakistan conflict

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists. Following this, New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor, targeting nine terror-related infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). As a result of Operation Sindoor, over 100 terrorists associated with groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen were killed.

The four-day military confrontation concluded on May 10 after the two sides agreed to an understanding for a ceasefire.