NEW DELHI: China has for the first time publicly acknowledged providing on-ground technical assistance to Pakistan during India’s Operation Sindoor last year.Beijing’s South China Morning Post on Friday reported that state broadcaster CCTV aired interviews with engineers 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. Zhang Heng, an engineer spoke about working alongside Pakistani personnel during the four-day confrontation.“At the support base, we constantly heard fighter jets roaring into the sky and air-raid sirens blaring,” Zhang was quoted as saying. “By late morning, temperatures were nearing 50 degrees Celsius. It was physically exhausting and mentally intense,” he said.The remarks mark the first official indication from China that its personnel were directly involved in supporting Pakistani military operations during the conflict.Zhang said the team’s focus was to ensure that the aircraft and related systems operated at “full combat capability”. Pakistan’s air force flies the Chinese-made J-10CE fighter jet, the export variant of China’s J-10C multirole combat aircraft.“This was not only recognition for the J-10CE,” Zhang said, “but also proof of the close partnership forged while working shoulder to shoulder.”Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. The operation was conceived as a punitive and targeted campaign to dismantle the terror infrastructure across the Line of Control and deeper inside Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Pakistan, killing more than 100 terrorists.
