News Desk: China orchestrated a coordinated disinformation offensive following India’s Operation Sindoor, aiming to dent global trust in Rafale fighter jets and promote its own J-35 aircraft, according to the annual report of the US–China Economic and Security Review Commission submitted to the US Congress.
Fake accounts, AI images used to show ‘downed’ Indian jets
The Commission says Beijing deployed networks of fake social media handles that circulated AI-generated visuals and video-game-derived images, falsely portraying “debris” of Indian fighter jets allegedly shot down during the May 7–10 India–Pakistan confrontation. The goal, it notes, was twofold: harm French defence exports and push Chinese military hardware into global markets.
The report also claims Chinese Embassy officials influenced Indonesia to halt an ongoing Rafale procurement—an intervention that helped China expand its sway over regional defence buying.
A US report says after May India Pakistan conflict China ‘initiated a disinformation campaign’ to hinder sales of French Rafale aircraft in favor of its own J-35s, using ‘fake social media accounts to propagate AI images of supposed “debris” from the planes’ pic.twitter.com/APQ9ZCa8zR
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) November 19, 2025
China’s shadow role in the India–Pakistan clash
China’s involvement in the three-day conflict attracted intense scrutiny. The report states Pakistan relied extensively on Chinese-made weapons and allegedly received real-time intelligence support.
Indian officials asserted that Beijing provided Islamabad with “live inputs” on Indian troop positions throughout the crisis, using the situation to observe and evaluate its own military capabilities. Pakistan denied the claims, while China stayed silent.
Though Pakistan insisted India lost six jets, including Rafales, the Commission’s assessment says only three Indian aircraft were reportedly downed.
Beijing–Islamabad military axis growing
The US report underscores a steady rise in China–Pakistan military cooperation, marked by several joint drills in 2024 and 2025. These included the Warrior-VIII counterterrorism exercise and the AMAN 2025 naval drills featuring the PLA Navy. Such activities, it says, highlight a strengthening defence partnership that India views as a direct strategic threat.
China seized moment to market its weapons
Beijing used Pakistan’s combat deployment of Chinese-made platforms during the 2025 conflict as a live demonstration of its systems. Pakistan fielded the HQ-9 air defence system, PL-15 missiles, and J-10 fighters—marking their first appearance in active hostilities.
As Pakistan’s top supplier, responsible for 82% of its arms imports between 2019 and 2023, China moved swiftly after the clash. Beijing offered Islamabad 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighters, KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft and new missile-defence systems. This coincided with Pakistan raising its defence budget for 2025–26 by 20% to $9 billion, even as it cut overall spending.
Chinese embassies worldwide then amplified Pakistan’s claims of successful strikes against Indian Rafales in an effort to push Chinese systems abroad. However, the US Commission stresses only three Indian jets were reportedly lost—and not all were confirmed to be Rafales.
