While China pours hundreds of billions of dollars into defence spending each year, it lags far behind the United States as an arms exporter.

China’s drones are used in counter-terrorism operations, and its weapons have been deployed by Saudi Arabia in Yemen and against rebel forces in African countries, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) senior researcher Siemon Wezeman told AFP.

“But this is the first time since the 1980s that a state has used large numbers of Chinese weapons of many types in action against another state,” said Wezeman, referencing the Iran-Iraq war when they were used on both sides.

‘Primary option’

Pakistan accounts for around 63% of China’s arms exports, according to conflict and arms-research institute SIPRI.

In the recent fighting, Pakistan used the J10-C Vigorous Dragon and JF-17 Thunder planes, armed with air-to-air missiles.

It was the first time the J10-C has been used in active combat, said the Stimson Centre’s Yun Sun.

Islamabad’s air defences also used Chinese kit – including the HQ-9P long-range surface-to-air missile system – and deployed Chinese radar as well as armed and reconnaissance drones.

“This was the first sustained fight where the bulk of Pakistan’s forces used Chinese weapons and, basically, relied on them as their primary option,” said Bilal Khan, founder of the Toronto-based Quwa Defence News & Analysis Group.

India has not officially confirmed any of its aircraft were lost, although a senior security source told AFP three jets had crashed on home soil, without giving the make or cause.

Rafale maker Dassault has also not commented.

The Rafale is considered one of Europe’s most high-tech jets, while the J10-C “is not even China’s most advanced”, said James Char from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

But if Pakistan’s claims are true, “this should not be surprising… considering that the Rafale is a multi-role fighter, whereas the J-10C was built for aerial combat and is also equipped with a stronger radar,” Char said.

The Chinese air defence systems, however, “do not appear to have been as effective as the Pakistan Air Force would have hoped”, said Quwa’s Khan, after India said it had neutralised one near the eastern border city of Lahore.

If true, said SIPRI’s Wezeman, that “would be a bigger success and more than balance the loss of some aircraft in the process”.

‘Significant reorientation’

In the days after the dogfight reports, J10-C maker Chengdu Aircraft Company’s stock soared over 40%.

“We most likely will see more orders going to Chinese contractors,” said the Stimson Centre’s Sun.

However, “it will take time and significant reorientation by Chinese arms manufacturers for the country to be a big arms exporter”, said Jennifer Kavanagh from the US think tank Defence Priorities.

She noted that China “cannot mass-produce certain key inputs, including aircraft engines”.

Wezeman said he thought the stock markets “overreacted”, as “we still have to see how well all the weapons used worked and if it really means much”.

Even if more data emerges, the conflict still does not reveal much about the Chinese military’s own capabilities, the analysts said.

China’s own systems and weapons are much more advanced than what it exports.

And while having high-tech hardware is important, “much more important is how those weapons are used”, said Kavanagh.

Brian Hart of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said he would caution against “reading too much” into recent developments.

“I don’t think you can make direct comparisons to how these Chinese-made systems would fare in different environments against more advanced adversaries like the United States,” he explained.

“Since the number of data points is small and since we don’t know much about the proficiency and training of the personnel on either side, it is hard to draw definitive conclusions.”

– Agence France-Presse