According to the South China Morning Post, China has now acknowledged that it gave Pakistan on-site technical assistance during the conflict with India last year, which New Delhi referred to as Operation Sindoor.
Following a terrorist assault that killed 26 people in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22 of last year, tensions between India and Pakistan increased. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor, which targeted nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) connected to terrorism. More than 100 terrorists connected to organisations like Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jaish-e-Mohammed were killed as a result of the Indian reaction.

According to the SCMP article, engineers from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) discussed their direct support of Pakistani operations in an interview that was carried on Thursday by China's public broadcaster CCTV. This is Beijing's first formal confession that Chinese forces were involved in the conflict between India and Pakistan.
According to the article, Zhang Heng, an engineer from AVIC's Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, was among those who gave Pakistan technical assistance during the conflict. The institute plays a major role in the development of China's cutting-edge unmanned aerial vehicles and fighter aircraft.

"We could constantly hear the wail of air-raid sirens and the thunder of fighter planes taking off at the support base. In May, it was already getting close to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) by late morning. The SCMP cited Zhang Heng as stating, "It was a real ordeal for us, both mentally and physically."
For the first time, China has acknowledged that its employees provided technical assistance to their Pakistani partners on the ground.
The J-10CE aircraft used by Pakistan's air force are manufactured in China by an AVIC affiliate. According to Zhang Heng, his team was motivated by a "desire to do an even better job with on-site support" and to make sure 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 said.
Xu Da, another worker at the same organization, likened the fighter plane like a "child."We took care of it, nurtured it, and then gave it to the user. It was now up against a serious test. According to Xu Da, who was cited by the SCMP, "We weren't very surprised about the outstanding results the J-10CE achieved, and it didn't feel sudden at all." Actually, it seemed inevitable. All the aircraft needed was the correct chance. And it performed just as we had anticipated when that time came.

Most people agree that the J-10CE, an export version of the J-10C 4.5-generation fighter, is the most sophisticated model in the J-10 series. Islamabad ordered 36 J-10Cs and 250 PL-15 missiles in 2020, becoming Pakistan the only known J-10C operator outside of China.
The Indian Army reported in July 2025 that China uses Pakistan as a "live lab" to test its military technology, with an astounding 81% of Pakistan's military equipment coming from China.
Since 2015, China has sold Pakistan weapons valued at $8.2 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). China was the fourth-largest weaponry exporter in the world between 2020 and 2024.In July 2025, Lieutenant General Rahul R. Singh, the Army's Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance), gave an explanation of the recent escalation with Pakistan.A few things can be learned from Operation Sindoor. The leadership's strategic messaging was clear. Pain cannot be absorbed the way it was a few years ago. Technology and human intelligence were used to gather a great deal of data that was used in the planning and target selection process. Nine of the 21 targets that were really identified were ones that we felt would be wise to engage. The decision to engage these nine targets was only made on the last day or hour, according to Lt Gen Singh.

Concerns that China is using its close ties with Pakistan as a chance for experimentation, including the deployment of cutting-edge platforms and surveillance systems in actual conflict scenarios, have led Lt Gen Singh to claim that the defence relationship between China and Pakistan has developed beyond traditional arms transfers.We had two enemies—actually three—and one boundary. In the forefront was Pakistan. China was offering every kind of assistance. China supplies 81% of Pakistan's military hardware. China has access to a live laboratory where they may test its weapons against other weapons. Turkey also contributed significantly to the kind of assistance it offered. Pakistan received real-time reports from China on our key vectors during DGMO-level discussions.

The JF-17 Thunder, which was co-developed with China, and the more sophisticated J-10C multirole fighter aircraft comprise more than half of Pakistan's fighter fleet. According to reports, Pakistan may soon get 40 Shenyang J-35 fifth-generation stealth jets from China, making it one of the few countries with stealth combat capability.                                                               
According to a recent US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) report for 2025, India views China as its "primary adversary," but Pakistan is more of a "ancillary security problem to be managed."