China launched a “disinformation campaign” after Operation Sindoor in a bid to “hinder” the sales of French Rafales “in favor” of its own J-35s, a US annual report released on Wednesday said.The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a US Congress-created advisory body, also accused Beijing of creating AI-generated images of “debris” claiming to have been destroyed by Chinese warplanes.”Following the May 2025 India-Pakistan border crisis, 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 that China’s weaponry destroyed,” the report said.Soon after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, China had announced that it would sell J-35 jets to Pakistan, raising questions about the timing of the move.
What does the US report say?
Citing French intelligence, the report said that China initiated a “disinformation campaign” angainst Rafale jets and “hailed the successes of its systems in the India-Pakistan clash, seeking to bolster weapons sales.””In the weeks after the conflict, Chinese embassies hailed the successes of its systems in the India-Pakistan clash, seeking to bolster weapons sales. Pakistan’s use of Chinese weapons to down French Rafale fighter jets used by India also became a particular selling point for Chinese Embassy defense sales efforts despite the fact that only three jets flown by India’s military were reportedly downed and all may not have been Rafales,” the report said. “Chinese Embassy officials convinced Indonesia to halt a purchase of Rafale jets already in process, furthering China’s inroads into other regional actors’ military procurements,” it added.Earlier this year, Beijing’s decision to fast-track the sale of 30 J-35A stealth fighters to Pakistan at roughly half price had sparked a wave of criticism. The planned export, China’s first of a fifth-generation jet, was widely viewed as both financially unwise and strategically risky. Deliveries were slated to start in August 2025, but many Chinese users were frustrated and confused, pointing out that the J-35A, or FC-31, was still in testing and had not even been commissioned into China’s own air force.