China’s defence exports have historically faced a credibility deficit, rooted in persistent performance and reliability issues. Repeated cases, such as Thailand and Algeria replacing crucial components in Chinese weapon systems with Western alternatives, underscore systemic shortcomings and enduring doubts. This perception has been reinforced in the previous years by instances such as the operational failure of ground combat platforms in African states as well as technical deficiencies in airborne early warning and control systems and frigate exports to Pakistan. However, the most notable shock emerged during the Operation Sindoor clashes between India and Pakistan, where Chinese systems reportedly failed across domains. The episode ended up casting doubts on China’s capacity to sustain competitive defence exports and questioned the maturity and resilience of its broader military-industrial complex.
Chinese credibility deficit (Harsh V. Pant, Atul Kumar – Observer Research Foundation)
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