China struggling to regain reputation of its military products First Post 28 May 2025
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China struggling to regain reputation of its military products First Post 28 May 2025
The sudden visit to Beijing of Pakistan’s deputy PM and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, would not have been without reason. After all, China is Pakistan’s largest creditor, apart from its own investments in the CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor). As per the World Bank, Pakistan owes China USD 22 billion, which is 22% of its total debt. It is surviving because the Chinese government continues rolling over the repayment. The day it stops, Pakistan will collapse. Hence, it is a Chinese vassal state which must dance to Beijing’s tune.
Pakistan does not have resources to procure military equipment from the west hence relies on Chinese and Turkish products, most of which are provided at huge discounts, making it the testing ground. For China, Pak is a proxy which it exploits to distract India from its Northern front.
China has, in recent years, been projecting its military equipment, including aircraft, air defence systems as also artillery as amongst the best globally, though they remain poor copies of Russian products. A copy, no matter how close, can never be as good as the original. That was proved recently.
China was irked with Pakistan on two factors which necessitated its summoning Dar. One was the total failure of its famed military products which it was attempting to sell to Africa and Asian nations. It was already facing criticism for its poor-quality fighter aircraft from Nigeria and Myanmar, which grounded their planes due to large scale technical malfunctions. Further, it was projecting these capabilities as deterrent from any attack by the US in possible retaliation to its attempt to regain Taiwan.
The second factor was Asim Munir approaching the US Secretary of State, Marc Rubio, for requesting India for a ceasefire rather than China as also subsequently doing his bidding by having their DGMO approach his Indian counterpart. This displayed that Rawalpindi believes Washington more dependable than Beijing or possibly that it considers failed Chinese equipment as the cause for collapse of its defences.
The cold reception accorded to Ishaq Dar on his arrival in Beijing indicates that China is dissatisfied with Pakistan. He was received by a local official and made to travel in a mini-bus. Failure of Chinese military equipment will be blamed on poor Pak handling and not on quality. Inputs suggest that China may provide Pak with its latest jets at reduced rates, whether Pak desires it or not, considering its current experience on Chinese products.
Officially the Chinese have projected themselves as neutral in the conflict. Their foreign ministry statement read, ‘India and Pakistan are and will always be each other’s neighbours. They’re both China’s neighbours as well. China opposes all forms of terrorism. We urge both sides to act in the larger interest of peace and stability.’ Their foreign minister Wang Yi also spoke to his Indian counterpart; however, it meant little.
In reality, Pak terrorists would never have launched Pahalgam without Chinese concurrence. Islamabad knew India would react violently and needed Chinese backing, which was provided by means of its military products and satellite inputs. China has repeatedly stated that it supports Pakistan in defending ‘national sovereignty and territorial integrity.’ Further, China would have hoped that any conflict would, apart from being a testing ground for its equipment, push its sales across the world.
Chinese bloggers initially joined hands with Pakistan’s DGISPR led disinformation network, pushing the Pak narrative of it not being involved in Pahalgam, as also success of Chinese military equipment in the short conflict. They claimed downing of multiple Indian aircraft, specifically mentioning the Rafale as it was China’s main competitor in the global market.
Even today, two weeks after the ceasefire, Chinese social media influencers quote banned Chinese handles, masquerading as western, mentioning India’s unwillingness to permit Dassault aviation to verify its aircraft losses.
Similarly, China wanted to prove that the Brahmos missile, now being procured by nations in conflict with China in the SCS (South China Sea), including Philippines and Vietnam, could be easily intercepted and were nothing special. Initially the China-Pakistan narrative on downing of Indian aircraft including the Rafale was successful, however with no proof emerging nor discovery of a crash site, the narrative began collapsing.
Pakistan’s initial success in the narrative war could be attributed to its hard sell on social media and lack of counter by India. Air Marshal Bharati, the air force spokesperson gently mentioned that there are losses in conflict, however all pilots are safe. This was misconstrued to Indian acceptance of Pakistan’s outrageous claims.
Then came the Indian counter. It tore apart China’s famed air defence systems by displaying proof of destruction of Pakistan’s strategic assets, protected by Chinese air defence systems as also destruction of Chinese manufactured radar and missile sites. The fact that China’s air defence system could not destroy a single Indian Brahmos missile added fuel to fire. While Bharati did not mention quantum of Pak aircraft downed, he hinted on them. Anger in Beijing against Rawalpindi only grew.
A few Chinese missiles were also recovered intact. These will now be studied by Indian scientists as also of those of its allies. Its electronics and other gadgetry will open doors to Chinese technology. Adding to the pain was complete failure of China’s famed drones, as also those from Turkey, each of which was intercepted by India.
Turkey was shocked to realize that its UAVs, which were successful in a Zero air defence environment such as Syria were a liability in modern warfare. It was worse when reports emerged that Turkey lost two of its UAV pilots operating alongside Pak forces, in an Indian strike. On realizing the reality of their failed equipment, Chinese bloggers switched sides blaming Pak forces for poor handling.
What became a greater pain for China was that India employed its domestic products, like the Akashteer air defence system, anti-drone systems and Brahmos missiles to great success. The Akashteer also integrated multiple systems including the Russian S 400, refurbished L 70 and Zu 23 guns.
Pakistan was the proxy whom China exploited to prove to the world that its defence industry has come of age. It is also possible that China bribed the Pak army leadership to launch the Pahalgam strike, aware India will be compelled to respond and be given a bloody nose, benefitting both, Pakistan and China. In addition, it would impact the QUAD and test US-India ties. However, all its plans backfired.
While demand for Chinese products will recede, those for Indian air defence systems and Brahmos missiles are on the rise. Rafale shares, which had dropped due to Pakistan and China’s fake narratives, have rebounded to their best levels. On the contrary, Chinese defence stocks dropped to their lowest levels. Once again, while China is compelled to lick its wounds, it would, as usual, throw Pak under the bus.
About the Author
Maj Gen Harsha Kakkar
Retired Major General Indian Army