Zardari's Exclusive Tour of China's Secret Jet Factory Signals Deeper Defense Ties

In a groundbreaking display of Sino-Pakistani military camaraderie, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari became the first foreign head of state to step inside China's closely guarded Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) complex, where he pushed for ramped-up joint defense manufacturing to bolster his nation's arsenal. Zardari, who serves as the constitutional supreme commander of Pakistan's armed forces, toured the sprawling facility in Chengdu on Sunday during his ongoing 10-day visit to China.

Accompanied by Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, he received an in-depth briefing on AVIC's cutting-edge arsenal, including the J-10C fighter jet, the co-developed JF-17 Thunder, and advancements in the J-20 stealth fighter. The session also covered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), automated combat units, and sophisticated command-and-control systems for multi-domain warfare.

"This visit underscores our unbreakable partnership," Zardari declared, praising the J-10 and JF-17 for their pivotal role in fortifying the Pakistan Air Force—particularly during the intense May 2025 clashes with India, dubbed Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos by Pakistan. He hailed AVIC as "a beacon of China's technological prowess and our shared strategic destiny," according to a statement from his office in Islamabad.

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The tour arrives against the backdrop of Pakistan's urgent need to replenish hardware depleted in the brief but fierce 2025 India-Pakistan conflict. On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, a series of missile and airstrikes targeting nine alleged terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 civilian lives. What began as precision hits on Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba infrastructure escalated into four days of cross-border drone and missile exchanges, ending in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on May 10. Pakistan reported 31 civilian deaths from Indian strikes, including at a Muzaffarabad mosque, while India claimed over 100 militants neutralized.

A recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report underscores China's outsized role in Pakistan's military buildup, revealing that Beijing supplied 81% of Islamabad's arms imports from 2020 to 2024—up from 74% in the prior period—with Pakistan absorbing 63% of China's global arms exports worth $5.28 billion. Key acquisitions include J-10CE jets, VT-4 tanks, and Hangor-class submarines, many deployed in the recent skirmishes.

China's Foreign Ministry, however, tempered the fanfare on Monday, sidestepping the AVIC specifics to emphasize Zardari's endorsement of Beijing's Global Security Initiative (GSI)—a framework touted as a multilateral alternative to U.S.-led security architecture. "China champions common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security," spokesperson Lin Jian said at a briefing. "We are eager to collaborate with all parties to advance the GSI and bolster global cooperation."

Zardari's trip, which kicked off on September 12, builds on a whirlwind of high-level exchanges. It follows Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir's attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin (August 31–September 1), where they met President Xi Jinping to reaffirm "all-weather" ties. The duo also viewed a People's Liberation Army parade marking the 80th anniversary of China's WWII victory over Japan. Just weeks earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up the sixth strategic dialogue in Islamabad on August 22.

Earlier Sunday, Zardari zipped from Chengdu to Mianyang on a high-speed train, marveling at China's 45,000-km network—complete with electric propulsion and earthquake early-warning tech—as a model for Pakistan's infrastructure ambitions.

As regional tensions simmer post-ceasefire, Zardari's AVIC glimpse signals Islamabad's pivot toward deeper co-production with Beijing, potentially accelerating joint ventures in fighters, drones, and beyond. Analysts see it as a clear bid to offset losses from Operation Sindoor and counterbalance India's military edge, further cementing the ironclad China-Pakistan axis in South Asia's volatile chessboard.

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