Countries that have purchased Chinese military equipment have found themselves struggling with poor quality, malfunctions, and maintenance challenges.
New Delhi: On 26 December 2024, Mao Zedong’s birth anniversary, China made global headlines by unveiling its J-36 sixth-generation fighter aircraft. The sleek, futuristic jet, revealed with much fanfare, was projected as a testament to China’s technological leap in military aviation. The imagery flooded social media, reinforcing the perception of Beijing’s growing military prowess. Yet, beneath this grand display, a more inconvenient reality lurks—China’s military technology is proving unreliable, its weapons are failing in real combat, and its credibility as an arms supplier is increasingly under question.
For years, China has carefully crafted an image of itself as a rising military superpower, capable of rivalling the West in arms production and innovation. However, despite its vast defence budgets and aggressive arms exports, the performance of Chinese-made weaponry has repeatedly failed to match its propaganda. Countries that have purchased Chinese military equipment—from Bangladesh to Pakistan, Myanmar to Nigeria—have found themselves struggling with poor quality, malfunctions, and maintenance challenges, exposing the limits of China’s much-hyped defence industry.
THE MIRAGE OF MILITARY MODERNISATION
China’s strategy of military posturing relies heavily on perception management rather than battlefield-tested effectiveness. Beijing’s military-industrial complex churns out advanced-looking weapons systems, and the government showcases them with meticulously orchestrated unveilings. This approach serves multiple objectives: intimidating regional rivals, countering American military influence in the Indo-Pacific, and enhancing China’s status as a dominant arms exporter.
Yet, for all the visual spectacle, real-world combat and operational use remain the ultimate test of military equipment, and this is where China’s arms industry stumbles. In conflicts and military exercises worldwide, Chinese-made weapons have exhibited critical design flaws, poor reliability, and substandard durability. The technology often reverse-engineered from Western or Russian designs, lacks the refinement and dependability of its competitors.
China’s latest effort to bolster its military standing—the construction of the massive Beijing Military City, a 1,500-acre command centre reportedly ten times larger than the Pentagon—further highlights its drive for military dominance. Yet, despite these grandiose developments, the fundamental issue persists: China’s military hardware continues to struggle in real-world conditions.
A TRACK RECORD OF FAILURE
The Bangladesh military, one of China’s frequent buyers, has encountered repeated failures with its Chinese defence purchases. The Bangladesh Navy reported defects in two Chinese-made frigates—BNS Umar Farooq and BNS Abu Ubaidah—soon after their induction. The Bangladesh Air Force faced persistent issues with Chinese-supplied F-7 fighter jets and K-8W trainer aircraft, including radars failing to meet accuracy standards. Even the Bangladesh Army’s Chinese-made MBT-2000 tanks suffered spare parts shortages, rendering them unreliable in combat scenarios.
Similarly, Myanmar’s air force was forced to ground 11 Chinese-made JF-17 fighter jets in 2022 due to structural cracks and radar malfunctions. The JF-17, co-developed by China and Pakistan as a cost-effective multirole fighter, was intended to be a game-changer for smaller air forces. Instead, it has become a symbol of China’s inability to produce durable, high-performance military aircraft.
In Nigeria, problems with Chinese fighter jets have been equally severe. Several Chinese-made F-7 aircraft delivered in 2009 were lost in crashes, prompting the Nigerian government to return seven of the remaining nine jets for urgent repairs. This pattern of failures suggests a systemic issue with China’s defense manufacturing rather than isolated incidents.
PAKISTAN: CHINA’S BIGGEST BUYER, STILL DISAPPOINTED
Nowhere is China’s arms export influence more visible than in Pakistan, a country that has become Beijing’s most significant military client. Over the years, Pakistan has procured Chinese fighter jets, frigates, missile systems, and armoured vehicles, making its defence apparatus heavily reliant on Chinese technology. However, this dependence has come at a cost.
Pakistan’s F-22P frigates have faced serious technical issues, including engine degradation and faulty sensors. The FM-90 (N) missile system, meant to provide critical air defence, suffered from defective infrared sensors, preventing it from effectively locking onto targets. Even the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, which Pakistan has co-developed with China, have experienced multiple crashes due to manufacturing defects, raising concerns about their safety and reliability.
Despite being a staunch ally, Pakistan’s growing concerns about Chinese arms quality mirror broader dissatisfaction among Chinese military equipment buyers worldwide. The reality is that China’s weapons often promise much but deliver little, leading to frustration even among its closest defence partners.
DECLINING ARMS SALES AND GLOBAL REPUTATION DAMAGE
The cracks in China’s military credibility are now visible in its declining arms exports. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China’s arms shipments declined by 7.8% between 2016 and 2020, with a 23% drop in the value of arms exports from 2013-17 to 2018-22. While China remains the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, its market share has shrunk, reflecting a loss of confidence among its international buyers.
The reasons behind this decline are clear. While China offers weapons at lower costs than Western alternatives and provides flexible payment options, the quality concerns are too significant to ignore. Military procurement is not just about affordability; it is about reliability, battlefield effectiveness, and long-term sustainment. If a weapon system malfunctions in combat, it can jeopardise entire missions, endanger troops, and compromise national security. Countries that have purchased Chinese arms are now learning this lesson the hard way.
EXPERT WARNINGS ON CHINESE MILITARY HARDWARE
Defence analysts have long warned about the shortcomings of China’s arms industry. Alexander Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, has noted that “China-made weapons are not just technologically inferior; they also remain untested on the battlefield.” Similarly, Collin Koh, a maritime security analyst, has pointed out that “importing countries are concerned about the lack of combat testing for most Chinese hardware.”
Even the U.S. Department of Defense has highlighted China’s ongoing struggle with quality deficiencies, stating that persistent technical failures are limiting Beijing’s ability to expand its global arms market. The Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) echoes these concerns, emphasizing that Chinese suppliers often fail to take accountability when their weapon systems malfunction in combat scenarios.
CHINA’S MILITARY POWER: MORE FICTION THAN REALITY?
China’s ambition to challenge the U.S. and NATO in military supremacy faces a serious credibility crisis. The continued failures of Chinese weaponry—across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East—undermine Beijing’s aspirations of being a dominant global military power. While China seeks to portray itself as a cutting-edge military innovator, its actual combat effectiveness remains questionable.
If Chinese weapons continue to fail in real-world combat situations, the entire perception of China’s military strength could unravel, exposing it as a power that excels in propaganda but struggles in practical warfare. For nations considering Chinese military equipment, the warning signs are clear: China’s arms may be cheaper, but their cost in combat could be far greater.
The true test of a superpower is not in its military displays but in its weapons’ ability to perform under fire. On that front, China is failing—badly.