China 'opportunistically' tested new combat systems in India-Pakistan clash in May: US panel
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission concluded that Beijing viewed the May 7–10 hostilities as a strategic opening rather than a distant crisis
- Nov 22, 2025,
- Updated Nov 22, 2025 11:53 AM IST
A new report from a US congressional panel has pushed Operation Sindoor back into focus, alleging that China used the May India-Pakistan clash as a real-time laboratory to test and promote its latest military hardware. The four-day confrontation, triggered by the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, became a live window for Beijing to gather combat data while staying out of the escalation, the report claims.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission concluded that Beijing viewed the May 7–10 hostilities as a strategic opening rather than a distant crisis.
"Beijing opportunistically leveraged the conflict to test and advertise the sophistication of its weapons, useful in the context of its ongoing border tensions with India and its expanding defence industry goals," the report stated.
China’s first combat use of new-generation platforms
According to the panel, this was the first instance where China’s modern systems were activated in live combat conditions. The report said: "This clash was the first time China’s modern weapons systems, including the HQ-9 air defence system, PL-15 air-to-air missiles, and J-10 fighter aircraft, were used in active combat, serving as a real-world field experiment."
It further claimed that Beijing offered to sell 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, KJ-500 aircraft and ballistic missile defence systems to Pakistan in June 2025, capitalising on what it projected as battlefield success.
Chinese embassies amplified the narrative
The commission noted that Chinese embassies publicly celebrated the performance of these systems in the India-Pakistan clash, portraying them as proof of technological superiority and using the publicity to “bolster weapons sales”.
China’s alleged disinformation drive targeting Rafales
The report also flagged a post-conflict information campaign linked to Beijing. It stated: "According to French intelligence, China initiated a disinformation campaign to hinder sales of French Rafales in favor of its own J-35s, and it used fake social media accounts to propagate AI and video game images of supposed debris from the planes China's weaponry destroyed."
What happened during Operation Sindoor
India traced the Pahalgam attack to handlers across the border and launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, striking terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan responded with missiles and drones—all of which were intercepted or neutralised—before Indian forces struck multiple Pakistani airfields.
The confrontation ended with a ceasefire on May 10, closing one of the sharpest India-Pakistan escalations in recent years, even as the US report suggests a third military player was quietly observing and experimenting from the sidelines.
A new report from a US congressional panel has pushed Operation Sindoor back into focus, alleging that China used the May India-Pakistan clash as a real-time laboratory to test and promote its latest military hardware. The four-day confrontation, triggered by the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, became a live window for Beijing to gather combat data while staying out of the escalation, the report claims.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission concluded that Beijing viewed the May 7–10 hostilities as a strategic opening rather than a distant crisis.
"Beijing opportunistically leveraged the conflict to test and advertise the sophistication of its weapons, useful in the context of its ongoing border tensions with India and its expanding defence industry goals," the report stated.
China’s first combat use of new-generation platforms
According to the panel, this was the first instance where China’s modern systems were activated in live combat conditions. The report said: "This clash was the first time China’s modern weapons systems, including the HQ-9 air defence system, PL-15 air-to-air missiles, and J-10 fighter aircraft, were used in active combat, serving as a real-world field experiment."
It further claimed that Beijing offered to sell 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, KJ-500 aircraft and ballistic missile defence systems to Pakistan in June 2025, capitalising on what it projected as battlefield success.
Chinese embassies amplified the narrative
The commission noted that Chinese embassies publicly celebrated the performance of these systems in the India-Pakistan clash, portraying them as proof of technological superiority and using the publicity to “bolster weapons sales”.
China’s alleged disinformation drive targeting Rafales
The report also flagged a post-conflict information campaign linked to Beijing. It stated: "According to French intelligence, China initiated a disinformation campaign to hinder sales of French Rafales in favor of its own J-35s, and it used fake social media accounts to propagate AI and video game images of supposed debris from the planes China's weaponry destroyed."
What happened during Operation Sindoor
India traced the Pahalgam attack to handlers across the border and launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, striking terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan responded with missiles and drones—all of which were intercepted or neutralised—before Indian forces struck multiple Pakistani airfields.
The confrontation ended with a ceasefire on May 10, closing one of the sharpest India-Pakistan escalations in recent years, even as the US report suggests a third military player was quietly observing and experimenting from the sidelines.