By admin 
New Delhi: In a first, China has publicly acknowledged that it provided on-site technical support to Pakistan during the four-day military conflict with India in May 2025, following India’s Operation Sindoor.
The admission came in an interview aired Thursday by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, featuring engineers from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a state-owned defence firm. Zhang Heng, an engineer from AVIC’s Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, said Chinese personnel were deployed at a support base in Pakistan during the conflict.
Zhang, one of the chinese engineers, describes War-Zone conditions. He said his team frequently heard “the roar of fighter jets taking off and the constant wail of air-raid sirens” while temperatures neared 50°C in May. “It was a real ordeal for us, both mentally and physically,” he told CCTV.
He said the team’s motivation was to ensure their equipment could “truly perform at its full combat potential”. Another AVIC engineer, Xu Da, compared the J-10CE fighter jet to a “child” they had “nurtured” and handed over to Pakistan, which was now “facing a major test”.
Tensions escalated after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting nine terror-related sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India said more than 100 terrorists linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed.
The four-day conflict involved missiles, drones, and artillery fire. Pakistan operates Chinese-made J-10CE fighter jets produced by an AVIC subsidiary. Chinese officials had earlier claimed a J-10CE shot down an Indian fighter jet, marking the model’s first reported combat kill. India has denied losing any aircraft during Operation Sindoor.
In July 2025, Lt Gen Rahul Singh, Deputy Chief of Army Staff, said India fought two adversaries, with Pakistan as the “front face” while China provided “all possible support”. He claimed China gave Islamabad “live inputs” on key Indian positions during the conflict. He also said 81% of Pakistan’s military hardware was of Chinese origin and alleged China used Pakistan as a “live lab” to test weapons. Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir rejected the allegations as “irresponsible and factually incorrect”.
Chinese foreign ministry and military officials had previously parried or played down allegations of support for Pakistan. The CCTV interview marks the first official acknowledgement of Chinese personnel playing a direct role.
China has also claimed it mediated between India and Pakistan during the crisis, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi listing it among conflicts where Beijing promoted peace. Pakistan’s Foreign Office backed that claim, saying Chinese leaders engaged both sides from May 6-10. India has consistently rejected third-party mediation, stating the ceasefire followed a request from Pakistan’s DGMO.
