China reportedly ran a disinformation campaign to hinder the sales of the French fighter jet, according to French intelligence allegations mentioned in a report submitted to the US Congress. The campaign was initiated after Operation SIndoor on May 7-8 as retaliation against the Pahalgam terror attack, which took the lives of 25 Indian citizens and 1 Nepali national.
The report by the United States, China Economic and Security Review Commission, an official body under the US government’s legislative branch, stated that “only three jets flown by India’s military were reportedly downed, and all may not have been Rafales.”
This contradicts Islamabad’s repeated claim that it shot down six Indian jets. India has acknowledged that there were some losses, but it has not shared details of which aircraft were lost because Operation Sindoor is still underway.
The disinformation campaign by China was run by using fake social media accounts to propagate artificially generated images of supposed debris from the planes that China’s weaponry destroyed. The campaign was in favour of the Chinese J-35 against the French Rafale. The report also mentioned that “Pakistan’s military success over India in its four-day war showcased Chinese weaponry”.
Impact of the disinformation campaign
According to the reports, Beijing tried to convince Indonesia to halt its purchase of 42 Rafale jets, which are set to be delivered to Jakarta next year. The report further added that the Chinese Embassy officials attempted “, furthering China’s inroads into other regional actors’ military procurements.”
China-Pakistan improving defence ties
The report mentioned the steady rise in China-Pakistan defence cooperation through late 2024 and early 2025. In November and December 2024, China and Pakistan held the three-week Warrior-VIII counterterrorism drills. Also in February 2025, China’s Navy participated in Pakistan’s multinational AMAN drills.
The report also noted that in June 2025, China reportedly offered to sell Pakistan 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, KJ-500 aircraft, and ballistic missile defence systems. Around the same time, Pakistan announced a 20% increase in its 2025–2026 defence budget, even though its overall budget was reduced. This raised its planned defence spending to $9 billion.
(With ANI Inputs)