NEW DELHI: China has for the first time publicly acknowledged providing on-ground technical assistance to Pakistan during India's Operation Sindoor last year.Beijing's South China Morning Post on Friday reported that state broadcaster CCTV aired interviews with engineers from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s (AVIC) Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, a key developer of China’s advanced fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle design. Zhang Heng, an engineer spoke about working alongside Pakistani personnel during the four-day confrontation."At the support base, we constantly heard fighter jets roaring into the sky and air-raid sirens blaring," Zhang was quoted as saying. "By late morning, temperatures were nearing 50 degrees Celsius. It was physically exhausting and mentally intense," he said.The remarks mark the first official indication from China that its personnel were directly involved in supporting Pakistani military operations during the conflict.Zhang said the team’s focus was to ensure that the aircraft and related systems operated at "full combat capability". Pakistan’s air force flies the Chinese-made J-10CE fighter jet, the export variant of China's J-10C multirole combat aircraft."This was not only recognition for the J-10CE," Zhang said, "but also proof of the close partnership forged while working shoulder to shoulder."Indian armed forced launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. The operation was conceived as a punitive and targeted campaign to dismantle the terror infrastructure across the Line of Control and deeper inside Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Pakistan, killing more than 100 terrorists.Chinese foreign ministry and military officials had largely brushed aside or played down the allegations that Beijing supported Pakistan during the conflict with India.Beijing had not officially responded to Indian Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Rahul R Singh’s remarks that China provided active military assistance to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and treated the conflict as a “live lab” to test its systems.Speaking at a seminar on “New Age Military Technologies” organised by industry body FICCI in July last year, Lt Gen Singh said China appeared to have used its satellite network to monitor Indian military deployments, with Pakistan allegedly receiving real-time inputs even during DGMO-level talks.The deputy army chief compared China’s approach during Operation Sindoor to the ancient Chinese military doctrine of the “36 stratagems”, particularly the tactic of “killing with a borrowed knife”, suggesting Beijing used Pakistan as a proxy to inflict strategic pressure on India.Chinese officials and state-linked social media accounts amplified Pakistan’s claims of downing Indian fighter jets during the conflict, portraying it as evidence of the superiority of Chinese military technology, despite Islamabad offering no proof for the assertions.At the same time, Chinese officials and media outlets remained largely silent on the damage suffered by Pakistan, including strikes on terror headquarters, key airbases and the reported failure of Chinese-origin radar systems that India said helped it establish air superiority.Recent reports in Chinese media have also indicated that Beijing is considering the sale of its fifth-generation stealth fighter, the J-35, to Pakistan.Observers view the latest disclosures by Chinese officials about their role during the May conflict as part of a broader attempt to market Chinese defence systems internationally.Xu Da, another engineer from the Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute who provided on-site support in Pakistan during the conflict, likened the J-10CE fighter jet to a “child”.“We nurtured it, cared for it and finally handed it over to the user. Then it faced a major test,” Xu said.“The results achieved by the J-10CE did not surprise us. It never felt sudden. In many ways, it felt inevitable. The aircraft simply needed the right opportunity, and when that moment came, it performed exactly as we expected.”The J-10CE is the export variant of China’s J-10C 4.5-generation fighter aircraft and is regarded as the most advanced version in the J-10 family. It is equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and can carry advanced Chinese air-to-air missiles.Pakistan remains the only known foreign operator of the J-10C series. Islamabad signed a deal in 2020 to acquire 36 fighter jets along with 250 PL-15 missiles.According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, nearly 80 per cent of Pakistan’s arms imports between 2021 and 2025 came from China.The Pakistan Air Force also relies heavily on the JF-17 fighter jet, jointly developed by China and Pakistan, as one of its primary combat platforms.(With PTI inputs)